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Copyrighted 1912, by 

THE MONTCLAIR CHAPTER OF THE 

NEW JERSEY SOCIETY 

OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



©CU328390 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

The preparation of any historical work, small or large, is de- 
pendent for its authority and accuracy not only upon published docu- 
ments but also upon the interest and co-operation of persons who 
may have such documents or unpublished data in their possession. 
The present author has been aided not a little, by such means, in 
preparing this series of papers upon Montclair. 

Thanks are especially due to Mr. T. Irving Crowell, Historian 
of the Montclair Chapter, whose active personal interest made this 
study possible ; to Mrs. Frederick H. Harris, for material compiled by 
General Harris; to Mr. Edward S. Ellis, author of an admirable 
school history of New Jersey, and Mr. David L. Pierson, editor of 
the Orange Chronicle, for helpful suggestions ; to Mr. A. C. Studer, 
editor of the Montclair Times, for chronological data found in the 
last chapter ; and to the librarians of the New Jersey Historical So- 
ciety of Newark, and the Free Public Library of Montclair, for 
active assistance ; to Mr. Edward Madison, for valuable school data ; 
to Mr. Edwin B. Goodell, for criticisms and suggestions ; to Mr. 
John K. Roll, of the Essex Title Guarantee and Trust Company, for 
the use of early maps, and to Mr. Frank D. Leffingwell for making 
maps ; to Mr. John R. Howard, Mr. Israel Crane, and Mr. Herbert 
M. Lloyd, for suggestions; and particularly to the special com- 
mittee of the Montclair Chapter of the New Jersey Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution, under whose supervision the 
manuscript has been prepared for printing and the book itself has 
been published : Messrs. T. Irving Crowell, Harry Emerson Fosdick, 
and W. I. Lincoln Adams. 



New Jersey is particularly rich in historical material. Its 
central position among the original thirteen colonies, during the 
momentous happenings of the Revolution, has given rise to an 
abundance of published and private legend. A considerable list of 
State histories alone might be compiled. The following works have 
been consulted most frequently in the present study : 

Historical Sketch of Montclair. F. H. Harris. 1881. 

History of Montclair. H. Whittemore. Edited by W. I. Lincoln 

Adams. 1894. 
Reminiscences of Montclair. P. Doremus. 1908. 

GENERAL. 
History of Pennsylvania and West-New-Jersey. G. Thomas. 1698. 
History of New Jersey. T. F. Gordon. 1834. 
Historical Collections, etc. Barber and Howe. 1844. 
Newark Town Records. 1864. 
History of New Jersey. L S. Mulford. 1851. 
Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War. W. S. 

Stryker. 1872. 
East Jersey Under the Proprietary Governments. W. A. Whitehead. 

1875. 
History of New Jersey. J. O. Raum. 1877. 
Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety, of New 

Jersey. 1879. 
History of Essex and Hudson Counties. W. H. Shaw. 1884. 
Historical Handbook of New Jersey. M. C. Spaulding. 1898. 
New Jersey as Colony and State. F. B. Lee. 
New Jersey State Historical Society. "Proceedings." Relating to 

Colonial and Revolutionary History of New Jersey. 




MONTCLAIR. 'CRANCTOWN AND SPEERTOWN' ABOUT THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTION 

Made under Iht- supt-t vision of Compatriot Frank D. Lcffingwell 



I, BEFORE THE WHITE MEN CAME 

THREE hundred years ago — if we can let our imaginations run 
back so far — the land which we now call New Jersey was a 
primeval wilderness marked only by the trails or campfires or 
rude clearings of the red man. The salt marshes echoed with the 
cry of the wild fowl ; the smaller swamps furnished homes for the 
beaver and otter ; while, over valley and hill, deer, foxes, wolves, 
bear, and much small game roamed at large. Dense pine forests 
stretched back from the Palisades, just north of the salt meadows, 
to mingle with the cedars, oaks, chestnuts, ashes, and birches of 
the rising lands now occupied by Montclair. Here and there on the 
upland or along a winding stream the forests gave way to natural 
clearings, forming a picture which must have gladdened the hearts 
of the pioneers. 

Through these happy hunting grounds, before the white man 
came, the peaceful Delawares roamed and hunted, undisturbed as 
yet by the fierce Iroquois who were later to drive them forth to seek 
a new home beyond the Mississippi. "Delaware" was the name 
given these aboriginal Indians by the English. "Leni-Lenapes" 
they called themselves, — "the people who have lived here from the 
beginning," — and a proud race they were, stoutly claiming full 
ownership of the soil. The Dutch and English respected their 
rights, as a rule, trading with them for all their territory, and in re- 
turn the Indians usually lived with them on terms of peace. The 
early historians mention very few uprisings in this section. The Dela- 
wares were divided into several clans, of which the Raritans and 
Hackensacks dwelt in the upper portions of the State. Many of the 
local Indian names may be traced back to the Delawares. Our 
Mountain of Montclair was called "Wachung" or "Wachtschunk," 
meaning "on the hill." "Watsessing" or "Wardsesson" is an ab- 
breviation of a similar name meaning "crooked." "Passaic" in its 
original form meant "in the valley" ; and "Hackensack," "the broad 
field." 

THE ARRIVAL OF HUDSON 

There was a vast difference between the manners of the New 
Jersey Indians and their neighbors across the Hudson River, as 
Henry Hudson first discovered (in 1609) when he sailed up this 



broad stream in his queer little Dutch ship. When he cast anchor 
off Sandy Hook, as he writes in his ship's log, "the people of the 
country came aboard of us, seeming very glad of our coming, and 
brought green tobacco, and gave us of it for knives and beads. They 
go in deer-skins, loose, well dressed. They desire clothes, and are 
very civil." Again he says : "The Indians from the west side came 
daily on board the vessel while we lay at anchor in the river, bring- 
ing for barter furs, the largest and finest oysters, Indian corn, and 
various vegetables." But the Manhattoes who lived on the East 
side of the river were anything but civil, being vindictive and treach- 
erous. 

Hudson was mightily pleased with this new country and gave 
such a glowing account of it, upon his return to Holland, that the 
Dutch lost no time in sending colonists over to settle upon it. They 
founded the town of New Amsterdam, which was to become the 
great metropolis of New York, and across on the western shore es- 
tablished a trading post at Bergen (in 161?) — the first settlement 
in the present State of New Jersey. Six years later, an English 
company under Cornelius May sailed up the Delaware River and 
built a fort opposite the site of Philadelphia. The Swedes es- 
tablished other trading posts a few years later. 

DUTCH AND ENGLISH RIVALRY 

For the next forty years, the New Netherlands (as the Dutch 
called the country) was the scene of quarrels and skirmishes among 
the rival posts. The Dutch and Swedes united in opposing the 
English, and got the better of it until the time of stout-hearted Peter 
Stuyvesant. Then King Charles the Second came back from exile 
to the English throne and sent fresh expeditions over to seize the 
disputed territory. 

The Duke of York, the King's brother, was granted letters 
patent to the land — 'provided he could get it— and the Duke lost no 
time in trying. He equipped four vessels and sent them over to 
surprise the Dutch. As it was a time of peace, and Governor 
Stuyvesant was away from the city, the surprise was complete. 
Without striking a blow. New Amsterdam was seized, and in 
honor of the Duke its name was changed to New York. The 
terms granted to the citizens, however, were so favorable that they 
became subjects of Great Britain. This explains why we have so 
many Dutch families in New Jersey, and why they have lived upon 
amicable terms with the English. 



The future bickerings over New York do not here concern us, 
although it is an interesting story. Suffice it to say that in the end 
the Duke of York held all the territory lying between the Connecti- 
cut River and Delaware Bay, the English claim being based upon 
the early voyages of Cabot. 

But before he was actually in possession of this easily acquired 
territory the Duke made over his rights to that portion of it lying 
on the west side of the Hudson River, to two of his friends. Lord 
John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret (June 23, 1664). The let- 
ters stated that "the said tract of land is to be called Nova Cesarea, 
or New Jersey," a special compliment to Carteret, who had de- 
fended the Isle of Jersey at home against Cromwell's troops. Philip 
Carteret, a brother of Sir George, thereupon fitted out an expedi- 
tion to take possession of the new province, and in the summer of 
1665 came over and established himself at Elizabeth-Town. Sir 
George died in 1679, and in payment of certain of his debts a portion 
of the province, known as East Jersey was sold to William Penn 
and eleven others, who were called the twelve proprietors. This 
purchase included the Watchung mountain, the site of Montclair. 

THE FOUNDERS OF NEWARK 

Meanwhile the town of Newark had been founded, and as its 
territory took in all this section, and its history is closely inter- 
woven with that of Montclair, it will be of interest to follow the 
steps which led to its settlement. 

It is well known that the first English settlement on the New 
England coast was that of the "Pilgrim Fathers," in 1630. Eleven 
years later the Connecticut colony was founded, and when a royal 
decree (1662) united this with the New Haven colony, an offshoot 
of the Massachusetts settlements, the New Haven settlers were 
greatly displeased. They said that it meant giving up certain 
civil and religious rights for which they had emigrated to the New 
World, and rather than submit they resolved to set forth again in 
quest of a spot where they might establish "a purer church and 
commonwealth." These old Puritans were of a stern race whose 
idea of religious liberty did not include the liberty to differ from 
themselves. The chief reason which caused them to turn again 
into the wilderness was their dissatisfaction with the "half-way 
covenant" which allowed persons not members of the church to vote 
and hold office, granted baptism to the children of persons not mem- 
bers of the church, made little distinction between communicants 



and non-communicants, and permitted divers other dreadful thing's. 
Although we may smile at their motives in this broader day, we can 
but admire their courage and resource, traits typical of all that 
sturdy race of pioneers. 

For two or three years prior to their coming, they had been in- 
terested in East Jersey as the possible site of their new home, and 
had doubtless sent scouts to this region, as they were well informed 
about it. They had also treated with Governor Stuyvesant for a 
grant of land during the period when he was still in authority, but 
his terms had not been satisfactory to them. The English owners 
knew of this, and soon after Carteret became established in Eliza- 
beth-Town he sent agents to New England to offer special induce- 
ments to the colonists. They were favorably received, and at a 
town meeting held in Milford, May 24, 1666, attended by delegates 
from the neighboring villages of Branford and Guilford, it was re- 
solved to "form a new colony at Newark, on the Passaic," for the 
"carrying out of spiritual concernments as also of civil and town 
affairs, according to God and a Godly government." The men who 
were prime movers in this important step were Captain Robert 
Treat, John Curtis, Jasper Crane, and John Treat. 

About thirty families agreed to go to this new settlement. A 
small vessel was chartered and after a trying voyage down the 
coast they entered the mouth of the Passaic. With what keen in- 
terest they must have viewed this strange land as it opened to their 
gaze along the winding stretches of this river, which then flowed 
free and clear through varied scenes ! The meadows they described 
as "plains of good hay of fifty acres of ground, with hardly one 
tree to be seen upon the whole spot — and several places so." 

REPULSED BY THE INDIANS 

But wihen they reached the chosen spot, the site of Newark, 
and attempted to land, they met an unlooked-for obstacle. Through 
some misunderstanding the Hackensack Indians had been left out 
of the trade, and we have already seen how jealous they were of 
their property rights. Captain Treat has left us an interesting 
personal account of this incident : — ^ 

"From my discourse and treatise with the Governor [Carteret], 
I expected that he would have cleared the plantation from all claims 
and incumbrances, and given quiet possession, which he had prom- 
ised to do ; but no sooner were we on the place, and landed some of 



1 "Bill in the Chancery of New Jersey," April, 1746. 

8 



our goods, when I and some others were warned off the ground by 
the Hackensack Indians, who seemed angry that we had landed any 
of our goods, although we told them we had the Governor's orders ; 
but they replied the land was theirs, and that it was unpurchased ; 
thereupon we put our goods on board the vessel again, and ac- 
quainted the Governor with the matter, and he could not say it was 
bought of the Indians. I and most of the company were minded to 
depart, but the Governor, with other gentlemen, were loth to let us 
go, and advised and encouraged us to go to the Indians, and directed 
us to one John Capteen, a Dutchman, that was a good interpreter, 
to go with us ; and I with some others and said Capteen went to 
Hackensack to treat with the Sagamores and other Indian proprietors 
of the land lying on the west side of Passaic River, about purchas- 
ing said lands ; and one Perro an Indian laid claim to said Passaic 
lands which is now called Newark." 

TERMS OF TRADE WITH THE INDIANS 

The upshot of these negotiations was that the Indian claims 
were paid in full, a fact in which Essex County residents can still 
take honest pride. The purchase price also is worth noting, by 
way of contrast to the present prices of real estate. The Indians 
were paid "fifty double hands of powder, one hundred bars of lead, 
twenty axes, twenty coats, ten guns, twenty pistols, four barrels of 
beer, two pairs of breeches, fifty knives, twenty hoes, eight hun- 
dred and fifty fathoms of wampum, two ankers of liquor, ten ket- 
tles, ten swords, three coats, and four blankets." 

For this was bought all that tract of land which now com- 
prises Newark, Bloomfield, the Oranges, Belleville, Glen Ridge, and 
Montclair up to the "foot of the mountain called by the Indians, 
'Watchung.' " Twelve years later a second purchase was made 
from the Indians who laid claim to the mountain itself, and in 
consideration of "two guns, three coats, and thirteen cans of rum," 
the limits vv^ere extended to the top of the mountain, including 
"Eagle Rock," a very fair trade for the white men. 

We are giving the modern names of localities, in order to 
locate them in the reader's mind ; but it must be remembered that 
all names other than Indian (with the exception of Newark) were 
not bestowed till a much later date. Montclair, for example, as we 
shall note later, was not so-called until two hundred years after 
these pioneers landed and built the first houses on the Passaic. 
Newark was thus named in compliment to the pastor of the flock, 
Abraham Pierson, who was originally from Newark-on-the-Trent, 



England. Another story, which lacks authority, is that the city 
was to be a "New-Worke" on the part of this dissenting congrega- 
tion. 

Newark was parcelled into estates of equal size, which were 
drawn by lot, after certain ones, called "tradesmen's lots," were set 
aside for the first of every trade who should settle in the place. 
From the outset the town prospered, and as it slowly grew it reached 
out toward the westward — to Watsessing, as the Indians called 
Bloomfield settlement, and on toward the inviting slopes of Wat- 
chung Mountain, 

As we have seen, all this section was included in the purchase 
from the Indians, and the old Town Records are full of references 
to "Home Lotts" and "Upland Lotts" — showing that the thrifty set- 
tlers staked out claims up toward the mountain some years before 
they came up here to live. There were no roads as yet, and the 
prowling Indians and wild beasts did not make the prospect inviting. 

Another deterrent feature, at first, was the fact that the top of 
the mountain had not been included in the original purchase, and 
it was not until twelve years later that the second trade was made 
with the red men. But some of the far-sighted settlers did not 
wait until all the difficulties had been cleared away. They reasoned 
that if they had no opportunity to clear the land, it would come in 
handy for their sons and daughters. Jasper Crane was the first to 
have his name recorded in the list of these surveys. In 1675 he 
was allowed twenty acres "at the head of ye Second River," with 
Samuel Kitchell on the north, Thomas Huntington on the east, and 
open land on the other two sides. Aaron Blackley also staked a 
claim, and these four citizens of Newark, owning land on the head 
waters of Second River, were doubtless the first white men to lay 
out and take title to property in what is now the heart of Montclair. 

THE BEGINNINGS OF CRANETOWN 

Jasper Crane's sons are credited with being the first settlers 
upon the site of Montclair. Crane was one of the leading men in 
Newark affairs. His name occurs frequently in the Town Records. 
An item in them, dated December 3, 1669, reads: 

"Mr. Jasper Crane hath confirmed and granted to him, all the 
land in his Home Lott that is within Fence, to him and his Heirs 
forever * * * ." And again : "Mr. Crane hath granted him 
full liberty to lay down to the Town his Upland Lott." 

Jasper Crane died in 1681, leaving four children, John, Azariah, 

10 



Jasper, and Hannah. To the sons Azariah and Jasper (according 
to the Town Record of April 27, 1694) were granted tracts of land 
at the foot of the mountain. Each tract contained one hundred and 
fifty acres, and that of Azariah lay to the northeast of the slope, 
while Jasper's lay to the southwest. From these first settlers, the 
village was called Cranestown, or Cranetown, and this name re- 
mained until some years after the Revolution. "As nearly as I can 
ascertain [says Mr. Philip Doremus], these tracts conveyed, by 
warrant to these two men were strips of land lying under our 
mountain on both sides of Orange and Valley Roads, the northerly 
line near Chestnut Street, and the southerly line near Gates Avenue. 
Members of the Crane family afterwards acquired large tracts of 
land over the mountain, which territory was known as Horse Neck, 
now Caldwell." Other early families from Newark were the 
Dodds and the Baldwins. 

Azariah Crane, Jasper's son, married Robert Treat's daughter, 
Mary, thus uniting the two most prominent Newark names in the 
Cranetown settlement. Azariah lived till a ripe old age, passing 
away in his eighty-third year (in 1730) in his old homestead at the 
foot of the mountain. He left four sons and four daughters, a 
good start toward the Crane stock which became so numerous later 
as to be almost a household word in the neighborhood. This sturdy 
family tree, in fact, sent its spreading branches throughout New 
England. A recent genealogy required two fat volumes. 

Large families were the rule in those days, and not the excep- 
tion, and the many sons and daughters in turn followed the scrip- 
tural injunction to replenish the land. Old age, like large families, 
was another beneficent rule. Theirs was the simple life of the 
great outdoors, with its hardships and dangers, it is true, but with 
an abounding health and a ready resource which our later civiliza- 
tion does not give. Children, for example, were ta.ught to help 
with the farm and household duties at an early age. Boys of seven 
and eight were expected to milk the cows, feed the hogs, and hoe 
the corn. Girls of the same age were taught to spin, churn, make 
cheese, dip candles, and ply the needle. 

THE FIRST HOUSE 

Nathaniel Crane, the oldest son of Azariah, was born in 1680, 
probably before his father removed to the mountain. As a boy of 
fourteen he helped his father make the first home clearing, and 
drive the laboring oxen behind the plow to break the virgin soil. 

II 



Being the oldest son, he also probably inherited the family home- 
stead, adding to it and improving it to meet his own family's needs. 
The famous homestead, about which many traditions cluster, 
stood near a spring at the foot of the mountain. "The old house, 
about which I played in childhood [writes Mr. Philip Doremus], 
was located on the Orange Road near to the present Myrtle Avenue, 
about two hundred feet west from the road. It was a two-story 
house with double pitched roof, large hall in the center with rooms 
each side. At the rear of the house stood a small building occupied 
in the early days by slaves and by their descendants as family ser- 
vants through several generations. At the south end of the house 
stood the cut stone milk house built over the spring mentioned 
above. On the shelves of this cool milk room,, I remember seeing 
the large pans of milk and rolls of new-made butter. The clear 
stream flowing from this spring was one of the heads of the brook 
now running across Church Street and Bloomfield Avenue near 
Park Street. The last occupant in the family line of the old Crane 
homestead v^^as Major Nathaniel Crane, who died childless. He 
was the fourth descendant from Nathaniel, son of Azariah. The 
house was remodeled several times by successive owners after it 
passed from the Crane family. In later years it was known as the 
Frost house, Mr. Frost having owned and occupied it for a number 
of years. It was taken down about 1900 to give place for new im- 
provements, with but little knowledge that it probably was the 
first house built in Montclair." 

While this may have been the first frame dwelling, there 
were, by the end of the century, several other settlers living on 
the slope and summit of the mountain. 

"These land-owners [says C. E. Knox], who had penetrated 
beyond the land-owners at Watsesson and Wigwam Rock did not 
venture to build houses. We have hints of the woods and the 
swamps, of the wigwam and the ford, but no intimation as yet of 
a house, x^lthough the Indians were friendly, the apprehension of a 
rising on the part of the natives had been one cause to prevent im- 
mediate settlements in the outlands. There had been Indian wars in 
Connecticut, and this colony was directly connected with those who 
were engaged in bloody battles against the native tribes there." 

Among those who located early claims were : John Ward, 
John Baldwin, Robert Lyman, Richard Harrison, Samuel Swaine, 
Azariah Crane, John Gardner, Nathaniel Wheeler, John Johnson, 
Mathew Williams, Paul George, Samuel Day, John Catlin. Samuel 
Harrison, Thomas Johnson, John Condner, Edward Ball, John 

12 



Cooper, and Samuel Kitchell, all before the year 1700. Some of 
these came to build homes and clear lands. The saw-mill which 
Thomas Davis obtained a permit to build, in 1695, goes to show that 
frame buildings were being erected. This saw-mill was probably 
located not far from the site of the Wilde woolen mill of later 
days. 

SPEERTOWN FOUNDED BY THE DUTCH 

Cranetown, however, was not the only germ for our present 
town of Montclair. While English settlers were moving up this 
way from Newark, there was a similar movement across country 
from the Dutch settlement of Hackensack. The Speers, the Van 
Giesons, the Kents, and the Seiglers were among the first Dutch 
families to locate on the side of the mountain, in that portion that 
is now Upper Montclair. The village then was called Speertown. 

These Dutch colonists were originally from Bergen, which, 
as we have seen, was the first settlement in New Jersey. They 
had made a treaty with the Indians, in 1679, for a tract of land 
called "Haquequenunck," and which was later made a little more 
pronounceable by being changed to "Aquackanonck." This treaty 
was later confirmed by another with the English (1684), and the 
tract was described as lying just north of Newark and running 
parallel with its line to the mountain. The northern boundary was 
the River Passaic running up as far as "Great Falls." Among the 
signers of this treaty was a certain John Hendricke Speare, and it 
may have been his sons who formed the nucleus of Speertown, just 
as those of Jasper Crane had given the name to Cranetown. 

The survey of the Valley, or Speertown Road, made May 13, 
1768, describes this road as leading over the mountain near Garrit 
Spear's field, and thence running south through the lands of Peter 
De Garmo, Rynier Van Gieson, Gideon Van Winkle, John Egbert, 
William Egbert, and Noah Crane, ending at William Crane's cor- 
ner (Washington's headquarters). This document is invaluable as 
giving us the names of these first Dutch settlers, and their ap- 
proximate location. 

They were a clannish set, these Dutch pioneers. Their settle- 
ment of Speertown grew but slowly, being parcelled out in good- 
sized tracts among a few families, who lived in the quiet, easy-going 
way their fathers had lived, in the land of dikes. Mr. William H. 
Wood, an old resident of this section, says: "About eight Dutch 
families farmed the land in this locality, one family near Watchung 
holding six hundred acres. These families kept to themselves and 
were not very enterprising. It is true they had good milk, fine 

13 



cheese, rich butter, and fat hogs ; also peaches, plums, apples, pears, 
and corn in abundance, for New Jersey was famed for its pro- 
ductive soil. In the midst of such comfortable surrounding's, they 
did not know, or care to know, of the outside world, except as re- 
gards selling their surplus produce. Had not their ancestors, from 
the time they peopled New Amsterdam, been happy and contented, 
drinking Holland gin, and smoking their long-stemmed, china- 
bowled pipes?" And so these farmers did likewise, going by way 
of diversion to their meeting-house in Stone House Plains. 

That the Speertown village grew but slowly is shown by an 
entry in Gordon's Gazetteer, of 1834, which gives the status of the 
place, at that time, as follows: "Speertown contains from twenty 
to thirty dwellings, one tavern, one store, a Dutch Reformed Church, 
and a school. It is surrounded by a country of red shale, carefully 
cultivated." 

In spite of the old feud between Dutch and English colonists, 
the settlers in the north and south ends of Montclair lived together 
in peace and harmony, traded cattle and hogs, exchanged farming 
implements, seeds, and opinions, and later, in the stormy days 
of the Revolution, fought side by side in the cause of freedom. 
Their differences in religion persist to this day; and we find many 
Dutch families worshipping in the Dutch Reformed Churches which 
their fathers founded, while the English adhere to the Presbyterian 
and other Anglican denominations, some of whose churches also 
date back to this time. 

In 1699 we find mention of a Dutch pastor, Rev. Guillome 
Bertholf, in this district, while about the same time the Reformed 
Church of Horse Neck (Caldwell) was organized. 

To this period, also, belong the quaint old stone houses which 
were once scattered all along the various highways, and a few of 
which yet remain. "The Egbert houses (says Knox), the Joseph 
Baldwin house, the houses of the Van Giesons, of Jacob Kent, of 
the Seiglers and the Speers, along the Valley and the Falls roads 
northward, go back undoubtedly before the Revolution. The 
Parmenas DodJ house, on the site of the Presbyterian Church, fac- 
ing the road southwards ; the Nathaniel Dodd house, half-way down 
from the church to the depot, facing the old road northward ; the 
John Smith house and the Peter Davis house, farther east on the 
same road, were built probably between the middle of the century 
and the Revolution. The most of these houses, two rooms long 
and one story high, were built of field-stone rudely dressed. The 
freestone first began to be quarried in 1721, but it was not used 
for house-building. 

14 



"In the account of a hurricane which swept along the mountain, 
reported in a New York newspaper in July, 1756, orchards, fences, 
corn-fields and woodlands for a mile and a half along the mountain 
and Dodd-town region are mentioned, with twenty-five houses and 
barns as being injured or destroyed. This shows a great advance in 
improvement and building." 

HOW THE PIONEERS LIVED 

Almost all of these pioneer houses were, as above stated, one 
story, with perhaps a lean-to. There was no cellar, except perhaps 
a slight excavation used for storing winter vegetables and fruits. 
During the Revolution these dug-outs were used to hide family 
valuables — not always successfully, as the prowling Hessians soon 
learned of this habit and began their search by ransacking under 
the floors. 

The smaller of the two rooms was used as a bedroom, and the 
larger for everything else, — living-room, kitchen, dining-room, and 
parlor. x\t one end might be seen the huge stone fire-place, capa- 
cious enough to admit a back-log eight feet long, such logs being so 
heavy that they were dragged into the house by a horse. In the 
fire-place was hung the crane, bearing its cooking pots. In the 
chimney-corner stood the spinning-wheel, a very necessary institu- 
tion. Perhaps there were two, the larger for woolen yarn, and the 
smaller for flax. No less necessary was the ever-present dye-pot, 
a clumsy wooden afifair, bound with hoops, and containing the juice 
of sumac, chestnut-bark, white-oak-bark, or other brilliant color 
for use in dyeing the homespun garments worn by all the members 
of the family. 

Other furniture was primitive but sufficient for all needs. The 
table had the drop or folding leaves, which allowed it to be pushed 
to one side when not in use. A plain dresser or side-board held 
the household ornaments such as the brightly shining pewter plates 
which came from England or Holland. 

From the Dutch was also obtained that most interesting device 
— especially to the boys and girls of the household — known as the 
Dutch oven, excellent for baking bread and toothsome things to eat. 
Such ovens were heated by being covered with glowing coals, their 
capacious interiors being filled for baking with a goodly array 
of loaves or pies. They were in general use as late as sixty or 
seventy years ago, and old residents still speak of them in terms of 
personal affection. 

15 



There were no matches in those days. Fires, therefore, were 
covered up carefully at night. If one went out by chance, and there 
was no flint in the house, it meant a long trip to some neighbor's 
house to borrow coals. But the thriftiest always kept a good flint 
or two, and a piece of cotton waste. The flint when struck sharply 
with a piece of steel threw out sparks which were caught in the 
waste. Candles were home-dipped, from tallow made and kept in 
large pans or tubs. 

In fact, the self-reliant pioneers had little need of shops. Each 
household produced almost everything it needed to wear and to eat. 
Even the boots and shoes were often home tanned and cobbled. Be- 
yond a few groceries, drugs, and trinkets, each house might be called 
self-supporting. 

Denton, a contemporary writer quoted by Whitehead, says : 
"Such as of their utmost labors can scarcely get a living [in Eng- 
land] may here procure inheritances of lands and possessions, stock 
themselves with all sorts of cattle, enjoy the benefit of them while 
tbey live, and leave them to their children when they die. Here 
you need not trouble the shambles [butcher] for meat, nor bakers 
and brewers for beer and bread, nor run to a linen-draper for a 
supply [of clothing] , every one making their own linen, and a great 
part of their woolen cloth for their ordinary wearing." 

Every early writer speaks in similar praise of the settlers who 
founded Newark, Cranetown, and Speertown. We who benefit 
from the labors of the first clearers of the land have every reason to 
be proud of this sturdy stock. They were strictly honest, as is 
shown by their dealings with the Indians, and from the outset they 
tried to live up to their motto: "According to God and a Godly 
government." 

GROWTH OF FARMS BY i7oo 

They backed up their religion by deeds. Before the beginning 
of the next century (1700) they had cleared and fenced many acres 
of woodland and field on the slopes of the friendly mountain. Corn- 
fields flaunted their rich burden in the sun. Many smaller fruits 
and vegetables were in cultivation. Bees were kept. Denton says : 
"You shall scarce find a house, but the south side of it is begirt with 
hives of bees which increase after an incredible manner." 

Apple orchards flourished. A place "commonly called the 
Crab Orchard" was a boundary mark in 1702 ; while still earlier 
(1678) a boundary follows the "first row of apple-trees." As a 
result, this region soon grew famous for its cider. In the early 

i6 



days a cider-mill was doing a rushing business ; and Mr. Doremus 
tells of seeing, when a 'boy, the long line of farmers' wagons loaded 
with fruit waiting their turn. As far back as 1700, Newark goes 
upon record as having "made ready a thousands barrels of good 
cider out of the orchards of their own planting." The early cider 
mills were crude affairs. They were usually circular troughs hewn 
from logs, into which solid wooden wheels fitted. To one of these 
central wheels was fastened an arm extending outwardly. A horse 
would be hitched to this arm, and as he plodded around a circular 
track, the apples were crushed by the wheel. The pulp was then 
placed in presses under huge wooden screws. 

The settlers were well supplied with cows, sheep, horses, and 
hogs. Oxen were largely used at first for all purposes of plowing 
and hauling. Ox carts were the only vehicles in use until the 
year 1812, over a hundred years later, when the first two-horse 
wagon appeared, creating a great sensation. 

For the protection of the sheep, a dog-tax was imposed, the 
amount being one dollar, just as at the present day. 

INDIANS AND WILD GAME 

The Indians continued to live on good terms with the settlers. 
They are almost always mentioned as being a benefit rather than 
an injury to their white neighbors, furnishing them with skins, furs, 
game, oysters, and fish, the obtainment of which would otherwise 
have been difficult. 

The wild animals, such as bear, wolves, foxes, and deer speedily 
diminished in numbers, after the settlers came. The wolves per- 
sisted the longest, and many a winter's night their hunger impelled 
them to come close to some lonely cabin, whose occupants would 
hear a single, long-drawn-out howl answered by others here and 
there on the hillside. One of the earliest items in the Town Records 
of Newark (1667) reads: "The Town agreed, that any man that 
would take pains to kill wolves, he or they for their encouragement 
should have fifteen shillings for every grown wolf that they kill, 
and this to be paid by the Town Treasury." Thirty years later 
the wolves were evidently still disturbing the pioneers' sleep, for 
we find the bounty increased to twenty shillings. 

Bears were not so many or troublesome, but in 1680 a bounty 
of ten shillings per head was offered for killing them. 

Rattlesnakes and copperheads were somewhat too plentiful 
for comfort. The many small swamps which dotted the country 
were happy homes for them. The lowland on the north side of 

17 



Second River at Doddtown was long known as "Rattlesnake Plain," 
and a promontory well down on the Meadows is still called "Snake 
Hill." The old Swinefield Road, in Orange, got its name, accord- 
ing to one story, from the fact that it was the custom, each Spring, 
to drive the hogs into the neighboring swampland, there to fatten 
on the rattlesnakes. The hogs thrived, but the treatment proved 
hard on the snakes. 

PUBLIC ROADS 

As the settlement upon the mountain-side grew, the need of 
public roads became greater. For the first few years the Indian 
trails and cattle paths were used. But as the planters began to have 
crops large enough to haul to mill or market, in their ox carts, rough 
highways were blazed out. On Sabbath and Town-meeting days, 
also, the "Town by the River" was the assembling place for the 
entire country-side. So there arose an urgent demand for public 
roads. 

This demand had been foreseen as early as 1675, after which 
two road commissioners, annually, were chosen. But that was as 
far as the matter went. Six years later the town council resolved 
that "There shall be Surveyors chosen to lay out a highway as far 
as the Mountain, if need be." We can readily guess that this ac- 
tion was inspired by Jasper Crane and others who owned tracts of 
land in this still almost inaccessible spot. But the "if need be" was 
a loophole of escape for the dilatory commissioners, for still nothing 
was done. 

Just twenty- four more years passed by, before any public move 
was made toward the much-needed highways — years which must 
have been very trying for the pioneer families who were working 
away to make comfortable homes for themselves in this upland wild- 
erness. Then in 1705 the pressure upon the council became so 
great, that on a single day the commissioners laid out (on paper) 
twelve new roads, seven of which were in the mountain district. We 
can imagine the rejoicing in the Cranetown homes when news of this 
important project reached them. The description of these roads is 
minutely given in the Newark records, but the exact routes are 
difficult to trace, as the old landmarks such as "Joseph Riggs' house," 
"a line of blazed trees," etc., no longer remain. But the main routes 
may still be followed, and in several instances are preserved in 
thoroughfares of to-day — especially the most crooked ones. 

The map here shown which has been carefully prepared from 
records and descriptions, traces out these earliest roads across the 

i8 



mountain and up and down the valley. It also locates the first 
houses. 

TWO MAIN ROADS TO CRANETOWN 

There were two main roads running west from Newark. The 
one to the south was known as the "Crane Road," because it started 
out from Newark at Jasper Crane's corner, and perhaps because it 
was the result of his efforts. It ran through Roseville (we are using 
modern names in these descriptions) and thence to Brick Church, 
in Orange. There it branched, the southern road going through 
Tory Corner to Eagle Rock. The other branch followed the old 
Swinefield Road and the present Orange Road to Montclair Center. 

The northern route from Newark to Montclair was even more 
devious. It was called the "Old Road," because it was the first one 
planned. It followed the general rout of the turnpike to Wat- 
sessing (Bloomfield), except that it obligingly went around all the 
farms and all the swamps and all the hills ; but it persevered until it 
reached Watsessing, where it turned sharply to the north, then west 
again following our Glen Ridge Avenue, and so into Montclair. In 
the Center it continued on up Church Street, as far as the Library 
corner, thence north along Valley Road to Claremont Avenue, and 
west again across the mountain to Horse Neck (Caldwell). The 
corner of our Valley Road and Claremont Avenue was the site of 
the William Crane house, afterwards Washington's headquarters. 

CROSS ROADS 

Valley Road originally began at this corner, and was called 
the "Speertown Road." It continued north to Paterson, very nearly 
along its present winding route. At Melville Seigler's house, in 
Speertown, the road to Little Falls branched off. 

Another Dutch road ran across toward Hackensack, following 
either the Bellevue Avenue, or the Watchung Avenue route. 

At the extreme southern part of Montclair another road ran 
across town, from the Eagle Rock road, and down to Bloomfield 
Center. 

These and one or two shorter roads shown on the map were 
the only thoroughfares prior to the Revolution. About 1800 Ful- 
lerton Avenue was a short woodland road, known as "The Lane." 
Grove Street and Elm Street were also broken lanes. Walnut 
Street had been marked out as an ox-trail for hauling wood by 
Zadock Crane, from his home^ about Midland Avenue, to the site of 
the Erie Station, and was called "Zadock's Lane. 

19 



WRETCHED CONDITION OF THESE HIGHWAYS 

The earlier roads were all laid out by 1730, but we must not 
get the idea that they were in any sense completed. On the con- 
trary, they were hastily graded and wretchedly kept. In opening 
them, little v^as done beyond moving back the fences, plowing up a 
trench on each side of the new road, and throwing the soft earth 
or large boulders into the middle. A hill was never cut down. If 
a swamp could not be avoided, it was filled in with a few loads of 
stone, of any size, taken from some convenient field ; or perhaps a 
corduroy road was made by using logs laid down transversely. The 
road overseers, who were chosen annually, did not know anything 
more about road-building than the next man. Their job was to 
"warn out" settlers at infrequent periods, usually in the wet season 
when they could get away from their crops, and the settlers would 
pay this "road tax" by putting in their allotted number of days, 
"keeping the roads in repair." The "repair" consisted in digging 
up the side trenches again, and piling more soft, juicy earth in the 
middle for the laboring ox carts to toil through and wear down in 
deep, uneven ruts. 

The early roads must indeed have been rivals of the famous 
"rocky road to Dublin," and traveling in clumsy carts without 
springs must have been anything but a joy. But in those days 
there were no other kinds of roads except bad ones, and no choice 
in conveyances, so they were accepted as a matter of course. 

How amazed would those plodding old Dutch and Puritan 
farmers be, if they should come to life and see New Jersey's roads 
to-day, famed everywhere for their smooth surface, easy grades, 
and trim condition ; if they should be whirled swiftly from town to 
town in a rubber-tired motor car ! But good roads, like other 
civilized ways, are only the product of slow growth and education. 
One hundred years after the first roads were laid out, when en- 
terprising citizens secured a charter for the Newark and Pompton 
turnpike (in 1806), they encountered the most violent opposition. 
The road cut across many farms directly, an unheard-of innovation 
and trespass upon private rights of ownership ; and besides it was to 
be a toll route. One man was so angry that he shot and killed an ox 
which was at work on the obnoxious road in front of his house. 
But the turnpike was put through, nevertheless, and when the farm- 
ers saw how greatly it aided them in marketing their goods, and 
thus made their farms more valuable, their ill-will vanished. The 
old turnpike became the fore-runner of the many good roads in 
Essex County. 

20 



li. THE WAR-PATH OF THE REVOLUTION 

NEW JERSEY has been aptly called the "war-path of the 
Revolution." Back and forth over its devoted soil the British 
and Hessian troops struggled with the patriot army, and for 
seven long years it was harried by friend and foe alike. Lying 
midway between the New England and the southern colonies this 
State occupied a strategic position which both armies were quick to 
discover. No less than a hundred battles and skirmishes were 
fought in New Jersey, beginning with that brilliant little victory 
of the Americans at Trenton, and continuing with Princeton, Bound 
Brook, Red Bank, Monmouth, Egg Harbor, Hancock's Bridge, 
Paulus Hook (Jersey City), Tom's River, Springfield, and the rest 
of the historic roll of honor. Nearly a dozen minor engagements 
were fought in and around Newark and Elizabeth, in which Mont- 
clair men had full share ; and there was scarcely a month in those 
seven long years that the roar of cannon, the rattle of musketry, or 
the blaze of some burning hamlet did not startle the dwellers upon 
Watchung. 

But the actual shock of battle was not the greatest of the set- 
tlers' troubles. There were many Tories in these parts who gave 
secret information to foraging and plundering parties. General 
McClellan says that no State in the Union suffered so much in this 
respect as did New Jersey ; and this farming section suffered far 
worse than the fields of battle. When the war began, Essex County 
was dotted with flourishing farms, the homes of well-to-do families. 
The wealth of the land consisted of live-stock and garden produce. 
To the troops of King George, stationed in New York or Phila- 
delphia, where was a more inviting field for raiding than this near-by 
country? And that they fully appreciated its excellence is only too 
well shown. But the British were 'by no means to blame for all the 
foraging. Common thieves and cutthroats donned the red uniform 
as a cloak for their evil deeds. 

A resolution of the Continental Congress, December 19, 1777, 
reads : "Resolved, that General Washington be informed that, in 
the opinion of Congress, the State of New Jersey demands in a 
peculiar degree the protection of the armies of the United States, 
so far as the same can possibly be extended, consistent with the 
safety of the army and the general welfare, as that State lies open 

21 



to attack from so many quarters, and the struggles which have been 
made by the brave and virtuous inhabitants of that State in defence 
of the common cause cannot fail of exposing them to the particular 
resentment of a merciless enemy." 

Montclair (or, as it was still called, Cranetown and Speer- 
town), was slightly off the beaten track of the main events of the 
war, but has its share of local traditions and episodes. Many 
families from the lower country fled to the mountain and sought 
concealment in its dense woodlands when the danger seemed great- 
est. Rev. Oliver Crane says: "I have frequently, when a boy, 
heard my grandmother tell of the vexatious alarms which were ex- 
perienced by her parents and neighbors residing in what was then 
termed Wardsesson (Bloomfield) during war times. She was at 
the time but a girl, still she well remembered how they were sud- 
denly called, sometimes by day, yet often by night, to hurry away all 
their easily movable household goods into a farm wagon, and hasten 
up over the mountains, leaving only a faithful old slave (for slavery 
existed in New Jersey in those days) to guard the house and prem- 
ises, they returning only after all signs of danger were past. This, 
she stated, was no infrequent occurrence, especially after the 
British were in possession of New York." 

THE RETREAT OF WASHINGTON 

Rev. Charles E. Knox adds : "After the retreat of Washington 
from Acquackanonck, through the lower part of the town (Newark), 
universal consternation prevailed. The people fled to the mountains 
and over the mountains. The pastor of the Mountain Church was 
marked for capture. The scouting parties of the British carried 
devastation everywhere. But not till the reaction of the next year 
(1777) did the people venture back to their desolate lands and 
plundered homes." 

The road through Crane's Gap, as it was called, leading to 
Horse Neck (Caldwell) was a favorite "underground route" for 
raiders and runaway slaves. 

The first war-times event which directly affected Cranetown has 
already been mentioned. When Washington coniimenced his re- 
treat across New Jersey, after the battles of Long Island and White 
Plains (1776), he marched along the River Road with a force of 
3,500 men. About five miles north of Cranetown his force divided, 
the main body to continue by the River Road to Newark, the other 
to march "over the hills" to Watsessing, where it remained several 

22 



days, finally rejoining the main body by way of the Orange Road. 
Cornwallis was close upon Washington's heels, in this retreat, and 
if he had not delayed through over-confidence, would have caught 
him. As it was, Washington's forces marched out one end of New- 
ark as the British entered at the other. 

OTHER WAR-TIME EVENTS 

In the summer of 1778, after the fiercely-fought battle of Mon- 
mouth, the retreating British and Hessians fled through this sec- 
tion of the country and past Newark by the River Road. At Belle- 
ville, they encountered an American force of Minute Men, hastily 
summoned, and a lively skirmish ensued. The British finally escaped 
across the Acquackanonck Bridge, in the darkness. These Minute 
Men were a part of a State Militia which had been raised "for the 
defense of the frontiers." There was a guard house at Belleville, 
and Captain Abraham Speer's company was stationed there to patrol 
the River Road and prevent British foraging parties from crossing. 

According to tradition. General Anthony Wayne broke camp at 
Second River, just south of the ruins of the copper works, and 
started his troops on a forced march through a blinding snow-storm, 
in January, 1779. They struggled up the old road through the 
center of Cranetown, posted pickets here and also in Wardsesson, 
and were finally forced to abandon their cannon in the snow-drifts 
at Horse Neck. 

The British, as well as the American army, early realized the 
strategic importance of Watchung Mountain for reconnaisance pur- 
poses. The famous view from Eagle Rock and other vantage 
points enabled the keen-visioned scouts to detect every movement of 
the enemy for miles around. During the British occupancy of 
New York they maintained several posts of observation along the 
summit. The largest and most importnat of these was known as 
Rifle Camp, near Great Notch, and traces of it remained for many 
years afterward. 

THE BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD 

The battle of Springfield, fought in June, 1780, is the next im- 
portant event which concerned Cranetown. Springfield, be it 
remembered, was also a part of Newark in those days, and was only 
seven or eight miles across the mountain from Cranetown. When 
the Hessians marched over from Staten Island, by way of Elizabeth- 
town, and there united with the British, they evidently expected 
that the disaffected colonists, tired of war, would rally to the King's 

23 



standard. But they were painfully disappointed. Like the days 
of old at Concord, here the "embattled" farmers gathered and fought 
the redcoats all the way back to Elizabethport. 

On the night before this eventful June twenty-third, the big gun 
at Short Hills had 'boomed forth the alarm, and signal fires had 
blazed along the mountain. The Cranetown and Speertown farm- 
ers lost no time in responding, and seizing their ever-ready flint- 
lock muskets they hurried across the hills. At daybreak Baron 
Knyphausen found a surprise party awaiting him, for the American 
army under General Greene had been largely reinforced from the 
countryside. After a stubborn fight of several hours, during which 
the Hessians set the town on fire, the latter were forced to retreat, 
"being greatly annoyed with a galling fire from the American 
skirmishers the whole way back." 

This was the engagement in which Parson Caldwell of 
Springfield supplied gun-wadding to the soldiers, by running to the 
neighboring church and coming back with an armful of Dr. Watts' 
hymn-books. "Now put Watts into them, boys ! Give them Watts !" 
he cried. And they did. 

General Greene made a special report to Washington of the 
gallant behavior of his soldiers, that day. "I have the pleasure 
to inform your Excellency," he wrote, "that the troops who were en- 
gaged behaved with great coolness and intrepidity, and the whole of 
them discovered an impatience to be brought into action. I wish 
every American could have been a spectator." Washington him- 
self in making his report to Congress said: "The militia deserve 
everything' that can be said. They flew to arms universally, and 
acted with a spirit equal to anything I have seen in the course of the 
war." High praise indeed, coming from the highest source! 

WASHINGTON IN CRANETOWN 

It was in the succeeding fall after the battle of Springfield that 
Washington spent two or three weeks here in Cranetown ; and this 
historic visit also followed closely after the treachery of Benedict 
Arnold and the execution of the hapless Andre. The Hessian and 
British troops having been repulsed at Springfield and other points, 
in their attempted invasion from the east, the forces of treachery 
were set at work on the north, to deliver the important stronghold, 
West Point, over to the enemy. Washington reached West Point 
on the very day when the treason was discovered, by the arrest of 

24 



Major Andre, and at once took energetic steps to strengthen the post 
and the surrounding country. His headquarters, that fall, were at 
Totowa (Paterson). Col. Mayland's regiment of cavalry was 
stationed near Little Falls, and Major Paul's rifle corps had an en- 
campment in a valley just below Great Notch, with orders to watch 
all the roads in this vicinity and guard against surprises. During 
October the light infantry was ordered to a new position, the better 
to watch the Notch and Crane's Gap roads. Washington's orders 
read as follows : 

Headquarters, Totoway, 

October 23rd, 1780. 
"The Corps of Light Infantry will remove from their present Encamp- 
ment, and take post on the most convenient ground, to the Cranetown Gap 
and the Notch, for the more effectual security of our Right. — Gen. St. Clair 
will take care of the approaches on the Left, Col. Mayland's Regiment will 
furnish the necessary Patrols, and will take a new Position for that purpose. 
The Officers of the Army are to be furnished with two rations per day until 
further orders." 

The above orders are definite enough as to the movements of 
the troops, but they give no reason for the great activity around 
about our mountain neighborhood, for the very good and sufficient 
reason that it was part of a secret campaign planned by Washington 
and Lafayette, against Staten Island. 

Rev. Oliver Crane, who made a special study of this Revolution- 
ary episode, as it affected Montclair, gives the following version 
of it: 

"It was known by scouts that Sir Henry Clinton had at this 
time a large amount of military stores on Staten Island, guarded 
mainly by Hessians. Lafayette proposed to secure these by a night 
attack; and such was his importunity that the Commander-in-Chief 
yielded ; and in order to be in nearer proximity to aid, if needed, 
the endeavor, he gave orders for the main divisions of the army to 
move southward. This was done, and the station selected, in which 
to await the result of the movement under Lafayette, was at Cranes- 
town. The position was well chosen, commanding as it did the pass 
across the mountain, and at the junction of the roads both from 
Newark and Orange to that point. 

"Washington appropriated the largest house in the town, and 
the one best located, the old Crane mansion, then owned by my 
grandfather, Williain Crane, himself at the time in the ranks. 
Washington took possession of the two lower rooms on the west side 
of the main hall, while members of his staff occupied the other side 
and all the second story rooms. Just back of the rear and smaller 

25 



room, was an old-fashioned lean-to, which had been and was then 
the kitchen. I myself well remember that old lean-to, with its large 
open fireplace, but it has long since disappeared. 

"On the evening of his Excellency's arrival, my great-grand- 
mother, Mercy Crane, then in charge of the house, as she was having 
her slaves prepare supper for her distinguished guest, came to the 
General and apologetically explained to him her deep regret that she 
had no tea to serve to her guests. 

" 'Never mind, my good lady,' replied his Excellency, unper- 
turbed, 'please have a crust of bread toasted, and use it for tea. 
That is good enough tea for me.' 

"Her anxieties thus allayed, she hastened to furnish the best 
that her house afforded for the supper of her worthy guests. After 
supper, another difiiculty caused no slight solicitude in the mind of 
the patriotic hostess. Owing to the unusual demand for beds, none 
was left for General Washington and Lafayette in the lower back 
room, which had been chosen by them, but which had been hitherto 
used as a dining-room. This deficiency was made known to his 
Excellency by the hostess with even deeper regret than the fact of 
her having no tea. 

"'But there is plenty of straw in the barn, is there not?' re- 
joined her courteous guest. 

" 'Abundance,' was the quick response. 

"Immediately Washington had several bundles ordered and 
spread in the corner of the room ; and there on it, wrapped in their 
army blankets, that night slept two of the noblest generals whose 
names are on the scroll of fame. Doubtless better accommodations 
were devised for their convenience while they remained in oc- 
cupancy thereafter. During the three weeks of Washington's re- 
maining in headquarters at Cranestown, the troops were encamped 
directly to the south of the old mansion, their tents standing thick 
all along the meadows, then wholly unobstructed, from Valley Road 
to what is now Mountain Avenue, and guarding the intersection 
of the old Newark Road (now Church Street) with the road leading 
to Orange, and thence to Elizabethtown and beyond. 

LAFAYETTE'S DESIGN UPON STATEN ISLAND 

"As Washington had brought his army there for a purpose, 
preparations were immediately set on foot to further the designs of 
the enthusiastic leader, Lafayette, in his plan of attack on Staten 
Island. Boats were ordered brought down the Passaic River to a 

26 



point where the crossing of the Kill was to be effected ; while others 
were hastily constructed on wagons to be conveyed overland to the 
required place of embarkation. All things seemed at length in 
readiness for the attempt which promised success. Lafayette, with 
his command, repaired to the designated spot with all secrecy, on 
the evening of October 26th, not doubting but that the boats ordered 
would be there to convey his command over the narrow stream. All 
night long he and his splendidly equipped corps waited impatiently 
to hail the sight of the wished-for boats, but they came not. From 
some unaccountable cause they were delayed, until the dawn warned 
the disappointed watchers that their so-much-coveted opportunity 
was past, and that they had nothing now to do but to return to their 
quarters. But happily, just at this point, we are supplied with very 
important data respecting the fact of the occupancy of Cranestown 
by Washington, at this juncture. 

"Soon after Lafayette started on his return to headquarters, he 
addressed a letter to Washington, dated at Elizabethtown, October 
27, 1780, as follows : 

" 'I have taken my position between Elizabethtown and Con- 
necticut Farms. General Clinton has not the time of making any 
disposition against us. To-morrow at nine or ten, I will march to 
our position of Crane'stown, and the day after to-morrow to Totowa, 
unless I receive contrary orders. Newark Mountain [Orange] was 
rather too far to march it this night, and too near for to-morrow ; 
because our men, being in want of blankets, will like better to join 
their tents again. If your Excellency approves of this arrangement, 
I beg you will order our baggage to wait for us on our position of 
Cranestown ; if you dislike the disposition, your orders may reach 
us on the road.' 

"This fixes exactly the date of the occupancy of Cranestown as 
temporary headquarters, and also supplies the specific object; 
while distinctly stating that the troops were there in tents." 

Further corroboration of the fact and exact time of this occu- 
pancy is found in a news item taken from Crane's "Mercury," 
published by Hugh Gains, who also published the New York "Ga- 
zette" during the Revolution. This issue was dated November 27, 
1780, ^ and the item in question was dated the 24th. It reads in part 
as follows : 

"Last Tuesday, at about one o'clock in the morning, a party 
consisting of one hundred men embarked from New York in two 

1 Republished in "The Diary of the American Revolution, from News- 
papers and Original Documents," by Frank Moore. (Brought to the atten- 
tion of the present work by Mr. Israel Crane.) 

27 



flat boats, and one gun was landed and moved towards Newark, 
N, J., with one three pounder (which was posted on an eminence 
halfway between the aforesaid ferry and the town), with a number 
of musketeers to cover it and secure their return to their vessels, 
where they left one gunboat to cover their passage over the marsh, 
should the enemy pursue them. ***** 

"After keeping possession of the town an hour, apprehensive 
of the enemy posted at Cranetown would march down against them, 
they accordingly began to retreat, but before they got out of town, 
discovered a body of rebels on their right flank endeavoring to cut 
off their retreat, while others proved troublesome in their rear by 
keeping up a scattering fire. They retreated some distance, when 
another party of rebels were discovered on their left, who finding 
it impossible to cut off their retreat, closed upon their flanks and hard 
in the rear which obliged them to form a square to secure their piece 
of ordnance. This they did by keeping up a scattering fire until 
they arrived at their boats, shortly after the enemy brought a six- 
pounder to the edge of the marsh, and kept a constant fire upon them 
during the reembarkation." 

It will be observed that the above account tallies closely in date 
with the others, as to the time when the patriot forces were in 
Cranetown. mentions this place specifically as though it were the 
recognized headquarters, and shows that Washington's men were 
hereabouts in sufficient numbers to make it hot for any stray bands 
of Britishers out this way in New Jersey. 

One of Mercy Crane's sons, Zadock (he who cut the wood-road 
known as Zadock's Lane), used to relate thrilling stories, in his old 
age, concerning this time. Once, he said. Washington received 
word that the British were planning to march over from New York 
and attack the American forces at Cranestown. A call was sent 
out for the Minute Men, just as at Springfield, and Zadock enacted 
the part of Paul Revere. But the alarm proved to be false. The 
redcoats did not attack. 



WASHINGTON'S LOOKOUT 

Washington spent much of his time, while in this neighborhood, 
in riding along the crest of the mountain, surveying the country, 
looking after the various outposts of his army, and keeping a close 
watch for foraging parties. The bold hill on the east side of the 
Notch was said to be a favorite lookout ; and Eagle Rock was a 
point of vantage also. A large rock standing out boldly on the crest 

28 



is still known, in a legendary way, as "Washington's Rock." Once 
he is said to have detected a squad of redcoats coming from Eliza- 
bethtown to the mountain. He at once ordered a body of cavalry 
forward from their position at Springfield, who cut off the foragers 
and reclaimed a fine lot of cattle which they were driving off. 

The army here required the closest attention and watchfulness. 
It was in a wretched condition, so much so that a mutiny was 
threatened. One did occur, in fact, at Pompton, the next year, due 
to the failure of Congress to pay the soldiers' wages. The Arnold 
episode, also, was disquieting, as no one could tell just how far the 
disaffection had spread. So the sojourn here was one marked by 
great mental anxiety on the part of the "Father of his Country." 
But the old adage that it is always darkest before dawn was true in 
this instance. In less than a year from the time when Washington 
scanned the slopes of our friendly mountain and planned new sur- 
prises for the enemy, came the surrender of Cornwallis (October 
17, 1781), and the recognition of American Independence. 

It is to be regretted that the Crane mansion, after remaining 
intact for more than a century, should not have been preserved as 
an historic landmark and a Revolutionary museum, in Montclair. 
The old homestead, known successively as the William Crane house, 
and the Stephen Fordham Crane house, was torn down in 1900. 
The spreading butternut tree, which stands out boldly in early pic- 
tures of the place, has been spared — ^the only visible mark and 
souvenir of that bygone time when our country's history was in the 
making. 

ANOTHER REVOLUTIONARY RELIC 

Among other historic houses is one of stone, one story in height 
and about twenty-five feet square, which stands on Watchung 
Avenue (then Oak Tree Road) in Speertown. This house, says 
General Harris, was built by one. Christian Interest, who emi- 
grated from Germany, in 1754. He married the daughter of Peter 
Garrabrant, an old resident of Speertown, and followed his trade 
as a cobbler. He went from house to house, with his kit on his 
back, making or mending the shoes of the family. He had been a 
conscript for the British arms, just prior to the Revolution, but was 
friendly to the American cause. When the war broke out and the 
Hessians were quartered in this part of the country, he was afraid 
that they would discover who he was and draft him into service. 
To prevent this, he dug a deep cellar under the floor of his bedroom 
and fitted it up with food, bedding, and the like. When he heard 

29 



of any of the redcoats coming his way, he would promptly drop out 
of sight and fasten the trapdoor from underneath, remaining in 
hiding until the danger was past. The old cellar and trapdoor were 
still there, a century after the old German had passed away. 

MEN WHO SERVED IN THE REVOLUTION 

The first call upon New Jersey for soldiers to serve in the 
Continental Army was in the form of a letter, dated Philadelphia, 
October 12, 1775, from John Hancock, President of Congress, ac- 
companied by proposed resolutions, as follows : 

''Resolved, That it be recommended to the Convention of New Jersey, 
that they immediately raise, at the expense of the Continent, two batallions, 
consisting of eight companies each, and each company of sixty-eight privates, 
ofificered with one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, four Serjeants, and four 
corporals. 

''That the privates be inlisted for one year, at the rate of Five Dollars 
per calendar month, liable to be discharged at any time, on allowing them one 
month's pay extraordinary. 

"That each cf the privates be allowed, instead of a bounty, one felt hat, 
a pair of yarn stockings, and a pair of shoes : the men to find their own arms. 

"That the pay of the officers, for the present, be the same as that of the 
officers in the present Continental Army; and in case the pay of the officers 
in the Army is augmented, the pay of the officers in these batallions shall in 
like manner be augmented from the time of their engaging in the service." 

These resolutions were passed by the provincial Congress, and 
advertisements were posted asking for volunteers, — the first of such 
calls which were made from time to time during the conflict. 

State Militia, or "Minute Men," were also organized, as early 
as June, 1775. These were "held in constant readiness on the 
shortest notice, to march to any place where assistance might be 
required, for the defence of this or any neighboring colony." They 
enlisted for four months. 

In addition, "State Troops," or "New Jersey Levies" were 
raised for home protection, but we find them bearing an important 
part in many battles and skirmishes. 

A majority of those from Cranetown and Speertown, who saw 
active service, were in the Militia, although a few were also in the 
regular army. It is impossible to obtain an official list, from 
Stryker's work, or elsewhere, as this section was then included with 
Newark. General Harris found that seventeen persons served, but 
he did not take into account several Speertown names. Family 
genealogies, as well as historical records have been drawn upon, in 
the effort to make the appended list as exact as possible. 

30 



Joseph Baldwin. — Son of John B., fourth of that name. Private in 

Capt. Squire's company, Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 
John Baldwin. — Family and record not given. 
Aaron Crane. — Fifth generation, line of Azariah (2). Private, N. J. 

Militia. 
Benjamin Crane. — Musician, N. J. Militia. 
Eliakum Crane. — Private, Essex Militia. 
John Crane. — Second Lieutenant, Capt. Cornelius Speer's company, 

Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 
Joseph Crane. — Son of Noah C, fourth generation, line of Nathaniel. 

Second lieutenant, Capt. Dodd's company, Second Regiment, N. J. 

Militia. 
Matthias Crane. — Son of Lieut. William C. Private, Essex Militia. 
Nathaniel Crane. — Son of Noah C, fourth generation, line of 

Nathaniel. Private, Capt. Marsh's Troop of Light Horse, N. J. 

Militia. Was in engagements of Long Island and Monmouth, 

among others. Called "Major," in later life. 
Obadiah Crane. — Sergeant, N. J. Militia. 

Oliver Crane. — Son of Lieut. William C. Private in Essex Militia. 
Phineas Crane. — Private, Essex Militia. 
Stephen Crane. — Son of Azariah C, fourth generation, line of Azariah 

(2). Delegate to General Continental Congress, 1774. Private, 

First Regiment, N. J. Line, Cont. Army. Also private in Capt. 

Squire's company. Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 
William Crane. — Son of Nathaniel C, fourth generation, line of 

Nathaniel. Lieutenant in Spencer's Regiment, Cont. Army; pro- 
moted to Captain, March, 1777. 
Peter Davis. — Probable descendant of Thomas D., who secured a permit 

to build the mill on Toney's Brook, in 1695. Private, Essex Militia. 
Nathaniel Dodd. — Family and record not given. 
Parmenas Dodd. — Private, Essex Militia. 
Moses Harrison. — Son of Jonas H., sixth generation from one of 

New Haven colonists. Private, Essex Militia. 
Thomas Seigler. — Probable descendant of Melville S., of Speertown. 

Captain, Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 
John Smith. — Private, Essex Militia. 

Abraham Speer. — Captain, Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 
Francis Speer. — Private, Essex Militia. 
Amos Tompkins. — Private, Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. Also 

served with State Troops, and in Cont. Army. 

Van Gieson. — Family and record not given. 

John Vincent. — Private, Second Regiment, N. J. Militia. 

Levi Vincent. — Private, Capt. Jaroloman's company. Second Regiment, 

N. J. Militia ; also State Troops ; also Cont. Army. 
Samuel C. Ward. — Private, Essex Militia. 



31 



111. FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE 
CIVIL WAR 

IT IS not the purpose of this sketch to give a close or exhaustive 
history of Montclair, between the two great wars. But a glance, 
in passing, at the principal lines of development may be of interest. 
Especially do we wish to know just how the little settlement upon 
the slopes of the mountain was faring as to churches, schools, and 
other public enterprises. 

CHURCHES 

"Religious services were held occasionally in Cranetown for 
more than fifty years before the first distinct church organization 
was established," says Whittemore. "No place for religious wor- 
ship was erected in the westerly section of the town until the year 
1837, previous to which time it had been the custom of the people 
to meet at the public school building for prayer and conference. 
The inhabitants had generally attended service at the Presbyterian 
Churches in Newark, at the First Church in Orange, and afterward 
a number of them went to Bloomfield, and others to Caldwell, as 
churches were being erected at these several places ; the large 
majority of them, however, were identified with the Bloomfield 
Church from the date of its organization, and religious services 
were held in the school house at Cranetown on Sunday afternoons 
and evenings by members of the Bloomfield Church, the pastor of 
that Church usually officiating. The place of meeting was the room 
in the second story of the public school building, on a site just in 
front of the present church." 

The Bloomfield Church which is thus shown to have been the 
parent organization of that in Montclair, was in turn the offshoot 
of the Mountain Society" formed in 1718, which became the First 
Presbyterian Church of Orange, a few years later, and enrolled 
several names of Cranetown families. 

The Presbyterian Church at Bloomfield was organized in 1796, 
and in April, 1797, a public call was issued for a minister. 
A group of these petitioners signed as residents of Cranetown, 
which fact serves to give us the names of the Presbyterian part of 

33 



the colony at that time. They were : Oliver Crane, Stephen Fordham, 
William Crane, Simeon Crane, Widow Susanna Crane, Job Crane, 
Isaac Tompkins, Phineas Crane, Widow Dorcas Williams, David Ri- 
ker, John Riker, Samuel McChesney, Samuel Ward, John Vincent, 
Noah Crane, Jr., Noah Crane, Phebe Dod, James Gubs, Jr., Joseph 
Crane, John Baldwin, Nathaniel Dod, Israel Crane, Caleb Martin, 
Aaron Crane, Reuben Dod, Lewis Baldwin, Nathaniel Crane, Isaac 
Mitchell, Benjamin Crane, Eliakim Crane, Elizabeth Rouge, Thomas 
Force, William Holmes, Daniel Ougheltree, Levi Vincent, Cornelius 
Vincent, John Smith, Henry Shoemaker, John Fry, Widow Jane 
Crane, Zadok Crane, Samuel Tichenor, Peter Davis, and Matthew 
Dod. 

It was not until 1837 that a meeting was held in Cranetown, to 
"consider the propriety of a separate organization." This was per- 
fected, under the name of the West Bloomfield Presbyterian Society, 
and the stone school house in the center of the town was purchased 
and enlarged. The present edifice, which succeeded it, was dedi- 
cated November 12, 1856. 

The Presbyterian Church was antedated, in Montclair, by a 
Methodist structure, which owed its parentage to the Methodist 
Churches of Bloomfield and Belleville. The three were on the same 
circuit ministered by riders or travelling preachers, well-known in 
the early days of Methodism. The Montclair church, built in 1836. 
was located on a lot donated by James Wilde, on the turnpike road 
(Bloomfield Avenue), just east of Elm street. Other prime movers 
in this church were Henry Wilde, Gorline Doremus, and Josiah 
W. Crane. 

The first Episcopal services were held in a small frame build- 
ing on Bloomfield Avenue, nearly opposite the old Methodist struc- 
ture. It was built by John Wilde, son of James Wilde who had 
been a prime mover in the Methodist Church. Both buildings were 
erected in the manufacturing district near the print works. The 
Episcopal Church began services in 1846, but it was not until 1860 
that the present St. Luke's parish was formally constituted. Five 
years later this church moved uptown to St. Luke's Place, where a 
building was erected, which is now used by the public schools. The 
present church on Fullerton Avenue was begun in 1889. 

The Roman Catholics began worshipping in a home of their 
own in 1858. Their first church was the plain frame building on 
Washington Street, near Elm, now occupied by the Foundling So- 
ciety. 

These four churches were the only ones erected prior to the 
Civil War. 

34 



SCHOOLS 

The first school building dates back to about the year 1740. 
"It was a one-story stone building [says Gen. Harris] ) 18 by 26 feet, 
fronting toward the east, and stood at the junction of the Old Road 
(now Church Street) and the road leading to Orange, about 250 
feet south of the present school house. There was a large fire-place 
in one corner, and flat desks or tables placed around the sides of the 
room, far enough from the walls to admit of benches being placed 
between the desks and the walls. All the seats were slabs, bark- 
side down. At one end was an oval-shaped, elevated platform, 
known as the rostrum, for the teacher, with a trap-door in the cen- 
ter, through which evil-doers were occasionally sent into the cellar. 
Among the earlier teachers were Watts Crane and Hugh Thompson. 

"Dr. Chapman, a minister of the Gospel in Orange, from 1766 
to 1800, came regularly every two weeks on Saturday to catechise 
the children in this school house. The old gentleman always rode 
on horseback, and when seen coming, the whole school, with the 
master at the head, arranged themselves in file, along the roadside, 
and waited with uncovered heads until the minister passed by, dis- 
mounted and entered the building, when they all followed. 

"This school house, becoming old and dilapidated, was torn 
down during the summer of 1812, and the stones were used in the 
construction of the second school house, which was built that year, 
on land purchased of Parmenas Dodd, at the junction of the Old 
Road, with the Turnpike, about fifty feet east of the present Presby- 
terian Church. This house and lot were sold, in 1838, to the church, 
and a third building was erected just west of the present church. 
The fourth school building, a wing of the old Grammar school, was 
erected in 1860. 

A private boarding school for boys, called the "Mount Prospect 
Institute," was opened in, or about 1838, by Warren S. Holt. It oc- 
cupied the building at the crest of the mountain, now known as the 
"Mountain House." The school did not prove a financial success, 
and was given up in 1814. 

"Ashland Hall," another boys' school was conducted for the 
two succeeding years, by Rev. David A. Frame, in his home on 
Bloomfield Avenue, later known as "Chelsea Hall." 

A private school for girls, known as the "Hillside Seminary," 
was opened about 1855, by Rev. Ebenezer Cheever. It was con- 
tinued successfully for nearly twenty years. The old building, al- 
though moved uphill from its original location, to make room for 

35 



the Grammar school, still stands on Hillside Avenue, not far from 
Orange Road, and is known as the "Hillside House." 

After the close of the Civil War, schools, both public and 
private, grew and flourished in this section, giving Montclair a con- 
siderable reputation as an educational center. 

THE FIRST POST OFFICE 

The first post-office was established 1830, under the name of 
West Bloomfield. This name remained the official designation of 
the town until after the War. Nathaniel H. Baldwin was the first 
postmaster, his appointment being made during the administration 
of President Jackson. Mr. Doremus says : "A high, lead-colored 
desk with pigeon holes for each letter of the alphabet represented 
the office, kept in a side room in Capt. Munn's Tavern. The rate of 
postage was graduated by the distance the letter traveled, and the 
postage was paid on its receipt. I remember well my first letter 
from this office, and the cost, twenty-five cents, the letter having 
been mailed at Baron Rouge, La., by my brother. In 1841, Calvin 
S. Baldwin succeeded N. H. Baldwin, and the post-office desk was 
moved to its new quarters in the tailor shop of Mr. Baldwin, which 
was the w^esterly part of the frame building on Bloomfield Avenue, 
near the corner of North Fullerton x\venue." 

RAILROADS 

The Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company was chartered 
about the year 1854. This road was completed in 1856, after a" rail- 
road war" had raged between the Morris and Essex, and the New 
Jersey Railroad Companies. This was the first rail line to connect 
West Bloomfield with Newark, and remained the only one until 
1867. Train service was begun in June, 1856. One car more than 
suplied the demand of public travel, and there was a deficit of $330 
at the end of the first seven months. When first opened, the same 
person sold tickets at the West Blooinfield station and acted as 
brakeman on the road. When the Delaware, Lackawanna and 
Western Railroad leased the Morris and Essex Railroad, this auxi- 
liary branch was included, and has since remained a part of that sys- 
tem. 

A rival road, the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway, ob- 
tained a charter in 1867, and has since become a part of the Erie 
System. 

36 



STORES AND OTHER ENTERPRISES 

There were two general stores doing business here, one hun- 
dred years ago, each carrying a wide selection of stock, — groceries, 
dry-goods, wet goods, hardware, drugs, seeds, crockery — in fact, 
everything that the farmer or his wife would be likely to need at 
short notice; for in those days one did not jump on a train to go 
shopping in Newark or New York. 

Says Mr. Doremus : "In my memory Mr. Israel Crane was 
the first in the mercantile business in the town. His store was 
located on Glen Ridge Avenue, opposite Spring Street, near his 
residence, still standing. This business preceded the opening of the 
Turnpike (1806). To keep in touch with the new highway and 
to hold his trade, he opened Spring Street making an easy connec- 
tion with the Turnpike." 

The second store was opened in 1811 by Peter Doremus, on 
the site now occupied by the Doremus building, in the Center, and 
was continued by his son, Philip, author of the Reminiscences. 

About the year 1810 Simon Crane opened a tavern at the cor- 
ner where the Old Road turned northward— now occupied by the 
public library. He was succeeded in this business by Capt. Joseph 
Munn, who later moved further up on the new Turnpike. 

Israel Crane, who kept the first large store, was also interested 
in several other enterprises. He was president of the stock company 
which obtained the charter for the Turnpike ; and he was the first to 
make use of the water-power from Toney's Brook, for manufac- 
turing purposes. About 1814 he organized the West Bloonifield 
Manufacturing Company, which erected two large buildings on 
the Brook, devoted to the production of cotton and woolen goods. 
In 1827 these mills were leased to Henry Wilde and Sons, who 
came here from Yorkshire, England, enlarged the plant, put in im- 
proved machinery, and did an extensive business, employing as 
many as one hundred persons. After the panic of 1837 the plant 
was devoted to the manufacture of calico prints. Still later (1856) 
Grant J. Wheeler used the plant for making paper and oakum. This 
was continued for thirty years, until new laws forbade the use of 
the stream for this purpose. 

Among other enterprises which the indefatigable Mr. Israel 
Crane started, a century ago, was a large cider mill and distillery, 
an enterprise which was both respectable and profitable ; for in those 
days before temperance began to be agitated such establishments 
had the steady patronage of the best class of people. Mention has 
already been made of this section's famous cider, due to the fine 

37 



orchards hereabout. The celebrated Baldwin, Canfield, and Har- 
rison apples were first produced here, and were shipped in quanti- 
ties to all parts of the country. Mr, Crane also had a stone quarry- 
near Newark, where he employed several men, who "traded it out" 
at his store. So altogether he may be called the first Montclair 
trust. 

Matthias Smith and Peter Doremus established a tannery, just 
south of the site of the Presbyterian Qiurch, about 1807. 

Capt. Joseph Munn and Nathaniel H, Baldwin, a few years 
later, established a small factory for making fur and other hats, by 
hand. 

THE WAR OF 1812 

The War of 1812, with Great Britain, was largely a sea strug- 
gle, and consequently affected this and other inland communities but 
little. The only citizens of this place who are known to have par- 
ticipated were Zenas S. Crane, John Munn, Richard Romer, and 
Capt. Joseph Munn. 

Capt. Munn acquired his title from the fact of having headed 
a company of volunteer cavalry raised in this locality, which aided 
to suppress the "Whiskey Insurrection" in Pennsylvania, during 
Washington's last administration. 

MEN WHO SERVED IN THE CIVIL WAR 

General Frederick H. Harris, who served with distinction in the 
Civil War, compiled a list, some ten years later, of those from ]\Iont- 
clair who bore arms in this struggle. He was aided in its compila- 
tion by Dr. John J. H. Love who also served. We cannot do bet- 
ter, therefore, than quote their list in full : 

"Edward Moran, the first man to volunteer from this town, for 
the defence of the City of Washington, was enrolled and mustered 
in as a member of the Seventh Regiment from New York City, and 
was afterwards connected with the naval service. 

"Among those who enlisted for three years in Company B, 
Seventh Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, were John H. Jacobus, Stephen 
P. Williams, Albert Woodrufif (died of disease), John Dickinson 
(killed), and Henry B. Ball (killed). 

"For three years in the Eight Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, John 
B. Ball, Charles Madison, Nicholas Bradley, and John Coyne. 

38 



"For three years in the Thirteenth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, 
Robert Madison, William J. Madison, John B. Munn, James Taylor, 
John Webster, James Kane, and David McNamara. 

"Fred. H. Harris entered the service as captain of Company 
E, Thirteenth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, in August, 1862 ; was 
promoted to the rank of Major, August 16, 1864 ; to that of 
Lieutenant Colonel, March 26, 1865 ; and returned home at the close 
of the War, June, 1865. During his service he had command of a 
brigade, and was twice brevetted by the President, once for "gallant 
and meritorious service in Georgia and the Carolinas," and after- 
wards, for gallant service in the battle of Bentonville, North Caro- 
lina. 

"Dr. John J. H. Love was appointed volunteer surgeon, by 
Governor Olden, of this State, in April, 1862 ; and assisted in the 
transportation and care of the wounded, after the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, May 5, 1862, being engaged in that service about thirty 
days. He was then commissioned surgeon of the Thirteenth Regi- 
ment, N. J. Volunteers, July 19, 1862 ; mustered into the United 
States service, August 25, 1862, and was assigned to duty, March 
23, 1863, as Surgeon-in-Chief of the Third Brigade, First Division, 
Twelfth Army Corps ; and, August 1, 1863, as Surgeon-in-Chief of 
the First Division, Twelfth Corps, in the Army of the Potomac. 
He served with distinction in this position, and returned home with 
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. 

"Joseph W. Nason, after a service of nine months in the 
Twenty-sixth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, went out as First Lieu- 
tenant, Company H, Thirty-ninth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers. 

"So far as we can at pfresent recall the facts, the following 
named persons served their country for nine months in Company F., 
Twenty-sixth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers: First Lieutenant, Wil- 
liam R. Taylor; corporals, William Egbertson, James H. Williams, 
John M. Corby, and Edwin F. Dodd ; privates, Peter Arnold, Alfred 
T. H. Church, John Collins, Henry A. Corby, William H. Corby, 
James B. Crane, Edwin Dodd, Horace Dodd, Henry Glass, Cor- 
nelius Delhagen, Monroe Harrison, John H. Hennion, Richard 
Jacobus, Charles Johnson, Charles Leist, Elias W. Littell, John D. 
Penn, Peter King, Joseph W. Penn, George W. Post, William A. 
Riker, Mortimer Whitehead, Thomas Somerville, John Speller, 
George Ungemah, John G. Van Gieson, John M. Wheeler, Albert 
E. Munn, John J. Reese, and Joseph W. Nason. 

"Of these men, Lieut. Joseph W. Nason, John M. Wheeler, 
Nicholas Bradley, John B. Munn, Charles Littell, James Taylor, 

39 



and Peter King- sleep in soldiers' graves. Lieut. Nason was killed 
on the skirmish line in front of Petersburg. Nicholas Bradley 
was killed at the battle of Williamsburg. James Taylor, at the bat- 
tle of Antietam. John M. Wheeler, at the battle of Fredericks- 
burg, in May, 1863. Charles Littell died from disease, in front of 
Fredericksburg. John B. Munn, who was orderly sergeant of Com- 
pany E., Thirteenth Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, was killed at 
Chancellorsville." 

Peter King died in hospital service near White Oak Church, 
Va., December 11, 1863. 



40 



IV. MONTCLAIR AFTER THE CIVIL WAR 

THE first and most important event succeeding the Civil War 
was the creation of a new and separate township from Bloom- 
field, under the name of Montclair. For one hundred and 
forty years Newark included all the land of the original colony ex- 
tending west to the mountain. In 1806 the township was divided 
by its council into three wards, the Newark, the Orange, and the 
Bloomfield Wards, and the boundary lines between them which 
were established at that time became permanent. Orange was 
made a separate township a few months later; and in 1812 the 
township of Bloomfield was created, taking its name from the 
Revolutionary general and later governor of the State, Joseph 
Bloomfield. For the next twenty-seven years, or until 1839, Bloom- 
field extended from the Passaic River to the crest of the Mountain, 
and included about two-fifths of the Newark territory. Belleville 
was made a separate township in the last-named year, Montclair in 
1868, and when Glen Ridge finally seceded Bloomfield was reduced 
to its present dimensions. The name of Montclair was chosen in 
order to approximate the Indian name, "Watchung," which meant 
"on the hill" or "at the mountain." The first post-office name, as 
we have seen, was West Bloomfield, and it was found necessary to 
have a distinctive name, in order to avoid confusion. 

The immediate cause of the separation was the refusal of 
Bloomfield to consent to the issue of bonds for the building of the 
Greenwood Lake Railway. The scheme for this road originated 
with Julius H. Pratt in 1866, and was born of a desire to improve 
upon the wretched train service maintained by the Morris and Essex 
road, now part of the excellent Lackawanna system. 

The Township Act provided "That Robert M. Hening, Grant J. 
Wheeler, and Philip Doremus shall be and are hereby appointed 
commissioners on the part of said township of Montclair to meet 
with three other commissioners on the part of said township of 
Bloomfield, previous to the fourth Tuesday in April, 1868." The 
population of the new township thus created was about 2,500. 

From this point on we will merely summarize the most im- 
portant events in Montclair history by years. 

41 



1869. 
The Montclair Library Association formed by private subscription. 
President, George S. Dwight ; Vice-President, Frederick H. Harris; Secre- 
tary, J. W. Taylor; Treasurer, Israel Crane. In 1871, small building erected 
on Fullerton Avenue, south of Bloomfield Avenue. Sooith wing added to 
Grammar School ; original building begun in 1860, at cost of $4,000. 

1870. 
First Congregational Church organized. Most of its charter members 
had been in the First Presbyterian Church. Rev. Amory H. Bradford of 
Andover Theological Seminary was chosen pastor in June of the same year. 

1871. 
Montclair Gas and Water Company obtained a charter. Incorporators : 
W. S. Torrey, R. M. Hening, L. S. Benedict, G. S. Dwight, F. H. Harris, 
A. C. Benedict, Jr., and John Torrey. Capital stock, $25,000. 

1873. 

Street lighting begun October 1, when 111 gas lamps were placed on the 
principal corners. 

The Montclair Railway Company began to operate the completed Green- 
wood Lake Railway, Julius H. Pratt, first President. The road was leased 
to the Oswego and Midland Railroad Co., and both companies became in- 
solvent in the financial panic of this year. 

Th Montclair Herald, published by J. Ogden Clark and Frank D. Sturgis, 
monthly which was suspended after a few issues. 

The township was bonded for $200,000, on account of the construction 
of this road, but defaulted payment in May. A ten year's litigation with the 
bondholders ensued. (See 1883.) 

1875. 

The Montclair Journal, a weekly, was established by W. C. Coutant, 
and taken over by John M. Campbell, but ceased publication early in the 
following year. 

1877. 

The Montclair Times, a weekly, was established by A. C. Studer, and 
has continued to the present time. For thirty-five years the Times has been 
closely identified with Montclair interests, and has had no other editor and 
publisher. 

Crump's label works destroyed by fire, July 4. Loss, $200,000. 

School building erected on site of present Central Primary School, at 
cost of $8,000. 

1878. 

Fire destroyed the Jacobus Building, January 27, wiping out the Times 
plant, the Town Council rooms, and several stores. One of the largest 
conflagrations up to that time. 

Corner-stone of Clififside Chapel laid in Upper Montclair. 

1879. 

Death of Timothy A. Crane, oldest citizen, April 12, at the age of 
ninety-three. 

42 



1880. 

Census showed population of 5,147. 

Disastrous fire, February 28, in which the library building, among others 
was destroyed. This fire first directed public sentiment toward organizing 
a paid fire department, but nothing came of it for two years. 

1882. 
Two fires in this year, the first in January, when Scharfenberg's Hotel 
on Montclair Avenue was burned, and a servant lost her life; the second 
when the residence of Thorndike Saunders was destroyed, at a loss of $25,000, 
induced the formation of Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. Charles M. 
Schott, Jr., was first foreman. Two years later the town erected a bell tower. 

1883. 

The bondholders' suit against the Township on account of the Montclair 
Railroad bonds, after being carried through all courts including the Supreme 
Court was decided against the Township. The original sum of $200,000, with 
accrued interest brought the total debt to $350,000. To meet this a new 
bond issue was made and sold in a block to the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance 
Co., of Newark. 

Thomas Russell and Stephen W. Carey, of the Township Committee, 
assumed a large share of the town's financial obligation until the new bond 
issue was completed. 

1884. 

Post Office showed an increase of business of twenty per cent, over 
previous year. Property improvements for the year aggregated $250,000. 

1885. 

Montclair District Telegraph and Fire Alarm Company organized, but 
failed in a few months. 

Roller skating craze struck Montclair. Large public rink opened in 
March with an attendance of 1,500. 

First Baptist Church organized in November. 

1886. 

Citizens agitated the question of a town water supply. First official 
steps taken in this direction in December. 

Trinity Presbyterian Church organized. Rev. Orville Reed called as 
pastor. 

Building "boom" on. Ninety-one houses erected within a year at a total 
cost of $341,300. Building and Loan Association organized. 

Board of Health appointed. 

1887. 

Montclair Water Company organized January 13, the incorporators 
being W. G. Snow, E. A. Bradley, J. R. Rand and J. Van Vleck, of Mont- 
clair, and J. R. Bartlett, H. C. Andrews and A. P. Fisher, of New York. 
In February, citizens voted for water supply. Supply of water first obtained 
from two wells north of Watchung Avenue and east of Valley Road. In 1890 
five additional wells were bored. First water connections made in September, 
1887. 

Montclair Military Academy opened by J. G. MacVicar in a small 
building on Clinton street. Sixteen pupils. 

43 



Public meeting held for the purpose of forming the Montclair Club. 
John R. Howard was chairman. First president, Jasper R. Rand. The 
Club bought and remodelled the Love residence on Church street for tem- 
porary occupation. 

1888. 

Montclair Register, a Democratic weekly was founded by A. E. C. 
Minderman. It continued for nearly three years. 

First Cedar Avenue school building erected at a cost of $7,000. 

1889. 

The Montclair Club opened the doors of its new club house, November 7. 

Outlook Club organized in December, largely through the influence of 
Dr. A. H. Bradford. First president, John R. Howard. 

Chestnut Street school building begun. 

Cornerstone laid for the St. Luke's Episcopal Church, on Fullerton 
Avenue. 

1890. 

Census showed population of 8,656. 

Montclair Herald founded by William F. Jones. The paper changed 
hands two or three times, being bought in 1892 by Dr. C. W. Butler. Still 
issued as a weekly with Francis L. Chrisman as editor and properitor. 

Montclair Journal was published by W. F. Jones and Otis McMillan, as 
a weekly from 1890 to 1891 and then daily for several months. It then 
ceased, the town not being large enough to support a daily. 

Lot purchased and High School building begun ; cost $120,000. 

Net property valuations, $3,355,000. Increase in one year, $850,000. 

1891. 

Free Public Library established by town vote under new State law, with 
regular tax appropriation for its maintenance. Three trustees appointed 
by town council. Dr. John J. H. Love, first president. 

Mountainside Hospital founded, and land purchased for buildings. 

Contract for sewers between Orange and Montclair let, thus giving an 
outlet to tidewater. 

The Young Men's Christian Association was formally organized through 
the efforts of town pastors, Joseph Van Vleck, and others. First president, 
A. H. Siegfried. 

1892. 

Post Office showed best year of its history, receipts aggregating $47,000. 

1893. 
The Montclair Athletic Club threw open its doors. 

1894. 

Township form of government changed, by vote of the people, February 
24, to conform to the law of 1888, known as the "Short Law." Montclair 
thus became a Town, divided into four wards, and with a Council composed 
of one from each Ward.. 

Town Improvement Association, organized by women incorporated 
July 19. 

George Inness, the painter, for some years a resident, died abroad, in 
August. 

44 



North Jersey Street Railway Company granted a trolley franchise in 
December by Chosen Freeholders. 

New Children's Home building formally opened. 

1895. 
Town council decided upon an issue of bonds to the amount of $60,000 
for sewers. It also awarded a fifteen-year contract for electric lights. 

PHblic agitation over the proposed trolley road and Town Council in 
October voted against it. 

1896. 
The trolley road from Newark was completed as far as the eastern 
town line below the Lackawanna crossing, and the first car was run Feb. 8. 
Maple Avenue school building erected, at a first cost of $25,000. 
At a public meeting in April, $14,000 was raised for a Y. M. C. A. 
building. 

1897. 
Dr. John J. H. Love, first president of the School Board (1865) and 
prominent in many other public enterprises, died July 30. 

1898. 

Trolley franchise still refused although Verona citizens threatened to 
invoke the legislature, and a bill looking to this end was, in fact, introduced 
in the legislature. It passed the lower house but was killed in the senate. 

The Southend trolley line secured the consent of property owners in 
September for a road along Elm Street and Orange Road. 

1899. 

General Frederick H. Harris, long prominent in town affairs and a 
Civil War veteran of distinction, died March 18. 

The Y. M. C. A. Building opened May 6. 

Cornerstone of Christian Union Congregational Church in Upper Mont- 
clair laid July 22. 

Trolley war ended by two franchises covering route through Elm Street, 
Orange Road, Bloomfield Avenue and Valley Road. 

1900. 
Census showed a population of 13,962, an increase of over 5,000 in ten 
years. 

Amount necessary for town expenses this year, $203,000. 
Watchung Avenue school building erected; first cost, $12,000. 

1901. 

Town council voted to bond the town for $50,000 to erect three fire 
houses. Bond issue afterwards increased to $75,000. 

Andrew Carnegie donated $40,000 toward a new public library building, 
which was later erected at the corner of Church Street and Valley Road. 

Cornerstone laid for the St. John's Episcopal Church on Montclair 
Avenue. 

1902. 

The Montclair Times issued a Twenty-fifth Anniversary number May 10. 

Cornerstone laid for new First Methodist Church structure on Fullerton 
Avenue, June 7. Dedicated October, 1903. 

Coal shortage in Montclair, due to great strike. 

45 



1904. 

Free Public Library opened doors of its new building April 14. Value of 
structure and site, $50,000. 

Cornerstonie of Trinity Presbyterian Church edifice laid July 29. Dedica- 
tion, Octoiber 15 of the year following. 

Commonwealth Club of Upper Montclair organized. 

1905. 

Watchung Avenue Congregational Church dedicated December 19. 

Town council voted an appropriation of $100,000 for the purchase of 54 
acres of park lands. 

1906. 

Public discussion of park appropriation and location of parks. Question 
referred to general election April 10, when the park movement carried, and 
four plots were authorized. The Park Commission, formed of public-spirited 
citizens, underwrote the bond issue for this purpose at par. 

The Montclair Civic Association incorporated May 12, assuming the 
charter of the Town Improvement Association, organized in 1894. First 
president, Benjamin V. Harrison. 

1907. 

"The Montclair," a new mountain-top hostelry, opened its doors for 
guests on May 1. Cost, $170,000. 

The Presbyterian Church of Upper Montclair laid the cornerstone for 
a chapel June 8. 

Agitation over a trunk sewer, built in conjunction with other towns and 
known as the Passaic Valley Sewer. Montclair's share of the cost was 
estimated at $420,000. Definite action not taken. 

1908. 

At a public dinner in March, the Montclair Civic Association appointed 
a Charter Revision Committee, which made a report two years later. The 
Municipal Art Commission also appointed 

State Normal School in Montclair Heights opened in September. The 
Governor and other officials present at dedication. Cost of structure and 
grounds $200,000. 

First automobile carnival, "Tour Around the World," held with great 
success, June 13. 116 cars in line. 

Town council appropriations for this year nearly a quarter of a million 
dollars. ($247,992.) 

Building permits aggregated $1,800,000. 

1909. 

Through the efforts of the Municipal Art Commission, Mr. John Nolen, 
a landscape architect, delivered an address before the Civic Association, and 
was employed by that society to draw up plans for beautifying Montclair. 
These plans were partially embodied in a project for town improvement 
which was submitted to popular vote, but failed to carry. 

This year, however, was signalized by a remarkable increase in public 
buildings and public spirit. Mr. W. T. Evans presented fifty-two paintings 
to the town, in November, to form the nucleus of a Municipal Art Gallery. 
Shortly afterward, Mrs. Henry Lang made a provisional offer of $50,000 

46 



toward an Art Building. In the interim the paintings were housed in the 
Hillside Grammar School. 

School outlay and building were epoch-making. The new Cedar Avenue 
structure was erected at a cost of $70,000 ; the new Hillside Grammar School, 
at a cost of $217,000; the new Lorraine Avenue building, at a cost of $130-, 
000 ; and the Central Heating plant, at an expense of $37,500. 

Julius H. Pratt, one of Montclair's oldest and most respected citizens, 
and the man who gave Montclair its name, died October 14, this year. 

The cornerstone of the new First Baptist Church structure was laid, 
October 17. 

The Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception dedicated 
September 26. 

1910. 

Montclair Chapter of the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, organized, January 4. 

The Charter Revision Commission made its report at a public meeting 
in March, which was approved and presented to the State Legislature for 
action. 

New Hillside Grammar School opened. 

Philip Doremus, one of the oldest citizens, prominent in town affairs, 
and author of "Reminiscences of Montclair," died December 30. 

Census showed a population of 21,500, an increase in ten years of 7,500. 
Of this number, about 2,000 were negroes, and 1,500 Italians. 

1911. 

The Mayor requested public mourning on account of the death of Rev. 
Amory H. Bradford, D.D., February 18. Dr. Bradford had been pastor of 
the First Congregational Church for forty years, and also had been identified 
with every phase of the town's progress during that time. 

First Baptist Church dedicated, February 25. 

The Valley Road Street Railway was extended into East Orange, thus 
making connection with the Orange lines and affording another route to 
Newark. 

1912. 

Extensive improvements on the Lackawanna Railroad were in progress 
throughout this year, including viaducts at the Bloomfield Avenue and Grove 
Street crossings, the completion of double tracks, and the erection of a hand- 
some new terminal station at Montclair. 

Montclair Methodists entertained 250 visiting clergymen at the First 
Methodist Church, during the annual sessions of the Newark Conference 
held here for one week commencing March 26. 

Randall Spaulding, for many years principal of schools and finally super- 
intendent, resigned and was succeeded by Don C. Bliss. 

Isaac K. Funk, one of the best-known lexicographers, editor of the 
"Standard Dictionary," head of a large publishing house, and noted also as 
a psychic investigator, died at his Montclair home, April 4. 



47 




'/VJa^ c?/ Essc-x Co. /V.J. 
-/3S9- 



APPENDIX 



Cl^e jEontclair Cl^apter of tl^c 
of tl^e ^ow of tl^e amertcan Bebolutton 



ITS OBJECTS 
CONSTITUTION 
ORGANIZATION 
AND MEMBERSHIP 




F. O 



3 Mrs. Blackwcll 

4 r. D. Taylor 

5 Mt. Prospect Ho 
' Parkhurst 

. Courtier 
Howe 
. . Oliver 
J. W. Crane 
S. F. & A. Crane 
S. Walter 
J. F. Mayer 
A. Baldwin 

A. Crane 
J. Crane 
T. Crane 
VVin.Graham 
Wm. Sigler 

B. &. W; Shops 
John Munn 
John Munn 

E. C. Fuller 
Hillside Seminar 
G. J. Wheeler 
Wm. II. Harris 

0. L. Hatch 
A. Harrison 
S. B. Day 
Myer 

A. Crane 

B. Van Allen 
S. Jenkins 
Wm. Vreeland 
. T. Gould 

T. Gillen 

1. R. Uodd 
Wm. H. Taylor 
Joseph Munn 

S. Sfaler'a Hotel 
J. Munn 



Key to Map of west Bloomfield 

: V. Evers 83 D. A. Fr.ime 

T. Hanlon 84 C. Smith 

i r. Mack 

Wm. II. Harris 

Pres. Parson 

Wm. S. Morris 

T. C. Doremus 

Ira Campbell 

Pres. Church 

No Name 

School 

E. Crane 

0. L. Hatch 
A. Brundage 
J. W. Riker 
W. H. Hancock 
P. Sneer 
D. H. Riker 

1. Riker 
W. Taylor 
G. Taylor 
M. Riker 
J. H. Baldwin 
Z. S. Crane 

C. S. Baldwin 
P. Doremus Est. 
P. Doremus 
Cider Mill 
M. Cole 
M. Crane 
Wm. S. Morris Store 113 Wm. A. F 

D. R. Rodgers - - - 
N. R. Dodd 
T. Crane 
R. Romer 
P. H. \an Riper 
S. G. Bush 
C. S. J. Seymoui 
M. Crane 
J. C. Doremus 
Ashland Hall 



87 No Name 

88 J. Crane 

89 Store 

90 Cider Mill 

91 MissM. Cra 

92 Chittenden 

93 J. Crane 

94 T. Madison 

95 H. Kane 

96 No Name 

97 L. Garvey 

98 I.. Garvey 

99 T. Leavy 

100 T. Leavy 

101 Store 

102 T. Leavy 

103 Z. Cokefair 

104 Z. Cokefair 

105 H. Frame 



111 Mrs. L. Little 



I. & O. Doremus 
J. & O. Doremus 
J. & O. Doremus 
Stained Clas "■ 



I.Cr 



Est. 



No. Name 
Office 
D. Wilson 
D. Wilson 
G. Doremus 



126 W. Mingis 

127 No Name 

128 C. Last 

1 29 B. Leavy 

130 J. Rcvell 

131 J. Robley 

132 T. H. Pratt 

133 T. B. Beadl 

134 W. H.Harris 1 

135 Cath. Church 

136 T. Gormley 

137 T. Hartley 

138 No Name 

139 Wm. Howarth 

140 W. .Marshall 

141 P. Shanaker 

142 M. Mullian 

143 Dr. Brower 

144 G. Ungamely 

145 J. Lee 

146 J. Lee 

147 M. E. Church 

148 Parsonage 

149 T. Hartley 

150 Mrs. Cranley 

151 t. N. Crane 

152 J. Hartlev 

1 53 No. Name 



A. Wiseman 
Crane's Paste Board 
T. Concannon 
Mrs. Lilly 
J. Crane 
J. Crane 
J. Crane 
Washington School 



J 



€l)c jHontdair CJjapter of tlje 
of t()e J)on^ of tt)e American lUebolution 

<©r0ani3e& Uanuarp 4, x9\o 



CHARTER OFFICERS 

President 
GEORGE CURTIS STERLING 

First Vice-President 
WASHINGTON IRVING LINCOLN ADAMS 

Second Vice-President 
JOHN BREWER WIGHT 

Secretary 
ARTHUR HOWARD CHURCHILL 

Treasurer 
EDWARD HUNTINGTON HOLMES 

Historian 
THOMAS IRVING CROWELL 

Chaplain 
REV. HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK 



FOUNDERS 

Washington Irving Lincoln Adams Edward Huntington Holmes 

Edwin Alphonso Bradley Frederick Bates Lovejoy 

Elvord Goodrich Chamberlin Lewis James Mulford 

Arthur Howard Churchill Willis Clarke Noble 

Thomas Irving Crowell Frank Lewis Dyer 

John Richardson Emery Frank Henry Presby 

Dexter Newell Force Frederick William Schoon maker 

Harry Emerson Fosdick George Curtis Sterling 

Albert French John Brewer Wight 

William George Frost Solomon Wright, Jr. 

Benjamin Vincent Harrison 



OFFICERS— 1912 



President 
JOHN BREWER WIGHT 

First Vice-President 
WASHINGTON IRVING LINCOLN ADAMS 

Second lice-President 
ALBERT FRENCH 

Secretary 
FREDERICK MARTIN HAVILAND 

Treasurer 
JULIUS BAKER CROWELL 

Registrar 
GEORGE CURTIS STERLING 

Historian 
THOMAS IRVING CROWELL 

Chaplain 
REV. HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK 

Auditor 
CHARLES HENRY BAKER 

Necrologist 
EDWARD FREDERICK MYERS 



MANAGERS— 1912 



George Gulick Bradley 
Andrew Hall Berry 
Joseph Edward Bird 
Edgar Asa Bates 
Arthur Howard Churchill 
Frank Lewis Dyer 



Edward Earl 
Arthur Champion Harris 
Arthur Youle Meeker 
Francis Jones Fond 
Henry Alanson Starks 
Thomas Herbert Taylor 



COMMITTEES— 1912 



THE SOCIAL WORK COMMITTEE 

Harry Emerson Fosdick, Chairman 

Edwin Alphonso Bradley 

William George Frost 

Edward Earl 

Frank Henry Presby 



THE STANDING COMMITTEE 

Samuel Judd Holmes, Chairman 
Walter Leslie Walker 
Murray Crane Kiggins 
James Coffin Stevens 
James Henry Slocum 



flag COMMITTEE 

Charles Samuel Holmes 
Charles Herbert DuBuisson 

51 



€l)e a^ontdair Cljapter of tlje 
of tlje ^onjtf of tl)c 3lmerican iJicbolution 



OBJECTS 

The objects of this Society shall be to perpetuate the memory of the 
men who, by their services and sacrifices during the War of the American 
Revolution, achieved the Independence of the American People ; to promote 
fellowship among their descendants ; to inspire a more profound reverence 
for the principles of the government founded by our forefathers ; to acquire 
and preserve the records of the individual services of the patriots of that 
War, as well as documents, relics, and landmarks, to encourage historical 
research in relation to the American Revolution by appropriate memorials; 
to celebrate the anniversaries of the prominent events of that War ; to foster 
true patriotism; to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom 
and to carry out the purposes expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution 
of our Country and the injunctions of Washington in his farewell address 
to the American People. 



52 



QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE STATE 

SOCIETY 

ARTICLE III. 

FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE SOCIETY. 
MEMBERSHIP. 

Any person shall be eligible for membership who is a male above the age 
of twenty-one (21) years; and is descended from an ancestor who assisted in 
establishing American Independence, during the War of the Revolution, in 
any one of the following capacities : 

1. A military or naval officer. 

2. A soldier, sailor, or marine. 

3. A member of a Committee of Correspondence, or Council of Safety, 
or other similar body. 

4. A member of a Provincial or of the Continental Congress. 

5. An officer in the service of one of the original Colonies or States, 
or of the National Government, representing or composed of these Colonies 
or States. Provided that such service was of so important a character as to 
render the official specially liable to arrest and punishment by the British 
Government. 

6. Any recognized patriot actually arrested and punished for giving 
aid and comfort to the patriotic cause. Provided, that if such ancestor, hav- 
ing assisted in establishing American Independence in any of the above capaci- 
ties, either adhered to the enemy or failed to maintain an honorable record 
throughout the War of the Revolution, his previous service shall not entitle 
his descendants to membership in this Society. And further provided, that 
no person shall be admitted to membership unless at least one member of the 
Society or some well-known citizen of New Jersey, shall state in writing his 
belief that the applicant for admission is of good moral character, and would 
be a worthy member of the Society. 

ARTICLE VI. 

CHAPTERS. 

(Extract.) 
***** No Person may be admitted to such Chapter unless he be a 
member in good standing of a State Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution, and all members of the Sons of the American Revolution, resident 
within the territory of such Cha.pter, shall be eligible to membership therein. 
If any member of such Chapter should cease to be a member of the Sons of 
the American Revolution, his membership in the Chapter shall cease. 



53 



CONSTITUTION OF THE MONTCLAIR CHAPTER 



PREAMBLE. 

We, the subscribers, descendants of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, 
members of the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
for the purpose of promoting in Montclair and vicinity the objects of said 
Society as set forth in Article III of its Constitution, do ordain and establish 
the following Constitution for the Government of this Chapter. 

ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 

This organization shall be known as The Montcl.\ir Chapter of the 
New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. 

ARTICLE II. 

QUORUM. 

Seven members present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of 
business. 

ARTICLE III. 

Any mem.ber of a State Society shall be eligible to membership in this 
Chapter who resides within its territory. 

ARTICLE IV. 

annual meeting. 
Section 1. The annual meeting for the election of officers, and for the 
transaction of any business properly coming before it, shall be held on the 
second Tuesday in January. When that day occurs upon a holiday, then the 
meeting shall be held on the next business day thereafter. 

REGULAR meetings. 

Sec. 2. Regular meetings of the Chapter shall be held on the second 
Tuesday of the months of September, November, January, and March. 

ARTICLE V. 

ADMISSION FEE. 

Section 1. There shall be no admission fee. 

DUES. 

Sec. 2. The regular annual dues shall be three dollars, payable in ad- 
vance, on the first day of February in each year. 

LIFE MEMBERSHIP FEE. 

Sec. 3. The payment of thirty dollars shall constitute a member of the 
Montclair Chapter a Life Member, and he shall not be required to pay annual 
dues thereafter in this Chapter. 

54 



ARTICLE VI. 

OFFICERS. 

The officers of this Chapter shall be a President, two Vice-Presidents, a 
Secretary, a Treasurer, a Registrar, a Historian, and a Chaplain 

ARTICLE- VII. 

officers' duties. 
The duties of the officers shall correspond with the duties of like officers 
of the State Society. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

There shall be a Board of Managers consisting of twelve members of the 
Chapter, who shall hold no other offices in the Chapter, while they are mem- 
ers of the Board of Managers. 

ARTICLE IX. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD. 

The eight officers, and the twelve members of the Board of Managers 
shall constitute the executive board. 

ARTICLE X. 

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGS. 

Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held whenever called by the 
President or acting President. 

ARTICLE XL 

POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD. 

The Executive Board shall have control of the administrative and 
financial afifairs of the Chapter. They shall appoint an Auditor and a 
Necrologist, and any other standing or special committees not otherwise 
provided for by this Constitution. 

ARTICLE XII. 

The Registrar shall receive all applications and proofs for membership 
in the State Society, aid applicants in making and preserving their applica- 
tion papers and transmit them to the Registrar of the State Society. A copy 
of the applications and proofs shall be made and kept on file for reference, 
and the Registrar shall report applications at the next meeting when prac- 
ticable. 

He shall have the custody of all Geographical, Historical and Genealogi- 
cal books, papers, manuscripts and relics of which the Chapter may be pos- 
sessed, and make a written report at each annual meeting. 

ARTICLE XIII. 
Applications for membership when approved by the State Registrar 
and approved by our Executive Board shall be acted upon and the applicant 
elected a member of this Chapter. 

55 



ARTICLE XIV. 

EXPENDITURE OF MONEY. 

Propositions for the giving or acceptance of invitations which may in- 
volve the expenditure of money, shall only be acted on when made in writing, 
by the Executive Board or by the members of the Chapter. 

ARTICLE XV. 

STANDING COMMITTEE. 

Within ten days after the annual meeting, the President shall appoint a 
committee of five members of the Chapter, to be known as the Standing Com- 
mittee, to consider the suitable observance of Revolutionary anniversaries, to 
ascertain the historic localities in this vicinity and the feasibility of marking 
the same, and to decorate the graves of Revolutionary soldiers for the ob- 
servance of Memorial Day. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Section 1. This Constitution shall not be altered, amended, or repealed 
unless such alteration or amendment shall have been proposed in writing at a 
previous meeting of the Executive Board, and entered on the records with the 
name of the member proposing the change, and adopted by a majority of the 
members present at a regular meeting of the Chapter or at a special meeting 
called for that purpose. 

CONSTITUTION SUSPENDED. 

Sec. 2. Any part of this Constitution may be suspended for a single 
meeting only by the unanimous vote of the members present. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

The rules of Order and Parliamentary Practice shall be as follows: 

1. Minutes of the previous meeting. 

2. Communications. 

3. Reports of Committees, Regular and Special. 

4. At annual meetings, reports of Secretary, Treasurer, Membership 
Committee, Standing Committee, and Executive Board. 

5. At annual meetings. Election of Officers. 

6. New Business. 



56 



Members of the Montclair Chapter of the 
New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution 

Organized January 4th, 1910 



AcKF.RMAN, Peter Christie 

Adams, Frank Willard 
*Adams, Washington Irving Lincoln 

Andrus, Charles Walton 

Badgley, Oliver Kinsey 

BakeRj Charles Henry 

Baker, Charles Whiting 

Baldwin, David Heber 

Barker, Harry 

Bates, Edgar Asa 

Bauchelle, William Miller 

Bell, Walter Edgar 

Benedict, Albert Remington 

Benedict, Edwin Peter 

Berry, Andrew Hall 

BiDDULPH, Herbert Henry 

Bird, Joseph Edward 

BissELL, Arthur Harry 

Black, William Alexander 

Board, Francis Armstrong 

Bostwick, William Titus 

Bowman, Samuel Halsey 

Bradley, Edwin Alphonso 
* Bradley, George Gulick 
*Bradley, Harold Hall 
*Bradley, Herbert Chapman 

Brewer, Walter Bennett 

Brown, Alpheus Lyon 

Brown, Harold Pitney 

Bryant, William Allen 

Cadmus, Eugene Le Roy 

Carman, Fletcher Freeman 

Cary, Edward Vincent 

Ciiamberlin, Elvord Goodrich 

Chapman, Frank Tomes 

Chase, Charles Frederick 

Churchill, Arthur Howard 

Cleaveland, Walter Avery 

Cole, Charles Buckingham 

Condict, Henry Vail 

Corby, Augustus C. 



Cornish, Robert Harrison 
Crane, Israel 
Crane, Ralph Thomson 
Crane, William Franklin 
Crowell, Julius Baker 
Crowell, Thomas Irving 
Davidson, Frank Everett 
Decker, John Edgar 
Demarest, Benjamin Garrison 
Drew, Jerry Dearborn 
Du Buisson, Charles Herbert 
Dutcher, Charles Mason 
Dyer, Frank Lewis 
Earl, Edward 
Elliott, Henry Gaylord 
Ely, Daniel Brittain 
Emery, John Richardson 
Ferris, Frank Arthur 
Fisher, Harry Messinger 
FooTE, Francis Seeley, Jr. 
Foote, Francis Seeley 
Force, Dexter Newell 
*FoRCE, Roderick Duncan 
FosDiCK, Clarence Van Winkle 
FosDicK, Harry Emerson 
FosDicK, Raymond Blaine 
French, Albert 
Frost, William George 
Gedney, George William 
Gibson, James Stewart 
Goodman, Frederic Simeon 
Gorton, Charles Elden 
Hall, Samuel Stickney 
Halsey, Levi Wright 
Hamilton, Alfred Starr 
Harris, Arthur Champion 
Harris, George Ellsworth 
Harrison, Benjamin Vincent 
Haviland, Frederick Martin 
Hill, Charles Borland 
Hill, Nathaniel Parker 



*Life Members. 



57 



Holmes, Charles Samuel 
Holmes, George Day 
Holmes, Samuel Judd 
Hunt, David Brainard 
Hunt, Edward McKinney 
Jellerson, George Stephen 
Jones, Charles Stevenson 
Keasbey, Robert Aertson 
KiGGiNS, Murray Crane 
Kimball, Charles Arthur 
Kline, Horace Thompson 
Leffingwell, Frank Dodge 
LooMis, Archie Harwood 
Love JOY, Frederick Bates 
Lyman, John Theodore 
Macy, William Alexander 
Madison, Frederick Smith 
Manton, Leon Wood 
Markell, William Bruce 
Meeker, Arthur Youle 
Meeker, Irving Avard 
Merrill, Jesse Spaulding 
Merwin, Timothy Dwight 
Morse, Arthur Metcalf 
Mulford, Lewis James 
*Mulford, Vincent Strong 
Myers, Edward Frederick 
Noble, Willis Clarke, 
Opdyke, Ralph 
Osborne, Horace Sherman 
Parker, Horatio Newton 
Parsons, Joseph Lester 
Peale, Algernon Thiers 
Pond, Daniel Herbert 
Pond, Francis Jones 
Pond, Warren 
Pond, William Adams 
Pratt, Charles Richardson 



*Presby, Frank Henry 
Price, Luther Edmunds 
Sandford, Charles Wilbur 

SCHOONMAKER, ADRIAN OndERDONK 

Schoonmaker, Frederick William 
Sherwood, Louis 
Sherv^ood, William Carman 
Slocum, James Henry 
Smith, Walter Tinney 
SouLE, Frank Marcellus 
Starks, Henry Alanson 
Sterling, Charles Archer 
Sterling, George Curtis 
Stevens, James Coffin 
St. John, Gamaliel Cyrus 
Stone, Charles Francis, Jr. 
Sutton, William Henry, Jr. 
Sutton, W!illiam Henry Sr. 

SWENARTON, WaITSTILL HASTINGS 

Taft, Charles Hatfield 
Taylor, George Carrington 
Taylor, Thomas Herbert 
Taylor, Walter William 
Tefft, Burton Clark 
Thomson, Robert Currie 
Truex, Charles Riblet 
Van Auken, Frank Cosgrove 
Walker, Walter Leslie 
Weed, Nathan Herbert 
Welsh, Thomas Whitney Benson 
West, Charles Converse 
Whittlesey, James Thomas 
* Wight, John Brewer 
WiSHARD, Luther Deloraine 
WooDHULL, Gilbert Tennent 
Worcester, William Jarvie 
Wright, Boardman 
Wright, Solomon, Jr. 



*Life Members. 



DECEASED MEMBERS 



George Smith Allan 
Lucius Le Roy Chinn 
Zelopheard Hand, Dr. 
Frederick Meriam Wheeler 



Died, January 15th, 191 1. 
" August 29th, 1910. 
" February 2nd, 1911. 
" September isth, 1910 



58 



•nO'i! 4 1912 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 207 434 5 



